The Fundamentals Of Life
by sawyerzelda
Summary: FINISHED! Zelda lives with her half-sister Peach and her neice in NYC. She's just broken up w Marth, her boyfriend, and thinks life is pointless. then she meets link, the man to save her from herself and change her life forever.
1. Family Life

OOOOOOOOOOOOOMG, I am going to DIE if I do not start writing this story!!! I hate starting stories when im in the middle of 1 already, and im in the middle of 2!! What is wrong with me?!?!?! HOLY CRAP!!! I HAVE A HOOOOOLE IN MY STOMACH!!!  
  
Im just putting this up 2 c if any of u people likes it. K? k. so b sure 2 review!!  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY NINTENDO CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! however, nicole is my own creation.  
  
btw, the diary entry is supposed to have bad spelling. its written by a little kid.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Dear Diary:  
  
Tooday, Aunt Zelda took me to the Bronx zoo. It was realy cool. I got ataked by a storck thou, and bit of part of my sandel. Then the hole shoo came off, and I had to wak arownd the zoo the rest of the time with only one sandel!!  
  
Wen we were looking at the rinos, this groop of punks came a long. They stopped beehind us and startted staring at Aunt Zelda's butt. She turned arownd, and they grined at her. We left, and she mutered "jerks" under her breth.  
  
We were heding towords arer car, and those creeps folowed us. Aunt Zellie told me to get in the car, so I did. I watshed her from the windo. This guy tryed to grab her arm, and she turned arownd and kiked his fase!!!! it was realy cool! His nose started bleding, and the other guys left us a lone.  
  
It was a very weerd day. But Ive got too stopp ritting, cause my mom is teling me to go to sleep. Bye!  
  
XOXOXOXO, Nicole  
  
After shutting her diary, Nicole got under her covers and turned off her light. "Night, mom," she called out.  
  
"Goodnight," said Peach, closing her daughter's door. She turned around and started walking down the hallway. "Zelda? Zelda! Ooh, where is that punky little--oh, there you are!"  
  
"Yeah, what is it?" Zelda asked, who was lounging away on her bed. She frowned upon noticing that her sister looked very angry.  
  
"What IS it?!" Peach asked. "I know what you did today, Zelda!"  
  
"Yeah," Zelda responded slowly. "I took Nicole to the zoo."  
  
"And then you beat up a pack of guys right in front of her face!"  
  
"That's crap! I only 'beat up' one guy! It's not like I ran him through with a saber or anything! What's the big deal!?"  
  
"You've got to stop picking fights, Zel!"  
  
"I wasn't picking a fight!" Zelda defended. "Those jerks were sexually harrassing me!. . .well, kind of. They had this freaky drooling look on their faces and they were staring at me!"  
  
"And I assume that they followed you to the car?" Peach asked with sarcasm.  
  
"That's exactly right!" Zelda shouted, standing up. "So I--"  
  
"So you fought them!" Peach interrupted. "When will you ever learn to just walk away from these kind of things, Zelda?! You're not setting a very desirable example for my only child!"  
  
"Well maybe if you weren't gone all the time working with your crappy executives all the time, you'd be able to stay at home more and spend more quality time with your daughter! Or are you too hung up on that Mr. Perlt to do anything?!"  
  
"Leave him out of this, Zelda! You don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
"I'm talking about that wolf in sheep's clothing! If you ask me, he's a total bas--"  
  
Zelda was cut short by hard slap from her sister. She felt her cheek slowly go numb (well, she didn't actually FEEL it), and she sat down on the bed.  
  
Peach stared at her younger sister, mixed with emotions such as anger, annoyance, and also pity. Her expression softened as she sat down next to Zelda and pulled her into an apologetic embrace.  
  
"I am so sorry, Zelda. It wasn't your fault. . .I know this is all about Marth and--"  
  
"No!" Zelda interjected bitterly, pushing away from Peach. "You're wrong! This isn't about breaking up with Marth! I'm done with him! He's out of my life! I hate him! I never want to see his face again!"  
  
"Then I wish you'd just tell me about it!" Peach cried desperately. "Why won't you confide in me? Mother asked me specifically to look after you! I don't want you to get hurt, Zelda!"  
  
"Hurt? You just struck me! And why did she want you to 'look after me' like Nicole? Is it because I'm the illegitamte child of the two of us?!"  
  
"No!" Peach answered immediately, shocked. "You're my younger sister Zelda, and I have a natural responsibility to look after you!"  
  
"Just get out!" Zelda shouted. "Get away from me and get out of my room! Now!" Blind with rage, Zelda picked up her radio and threatened to throw it at Peach.  
  
Hastily, Peach left the room and slammed the door shut behind her. From behind her closed door, Nicole heard her mother's feet run across the linoleum hallway.  
  
Zelda turned off her lights and hid underneath the safety of her bedcovers. Her breathing eventually slowed down, and she cried silently. She loved and hated her sister at the same time. And she didn't mean to set a 'bad' example for Nicole, because she loved her neice too.  
  
Right now, the person she didn't love was Marth--her former boyfriend. She had only just found out that he was having an affair on the side, and she immediately broke up with him. Maybe she was depressed about it, but she refused to let Peach win such a violent argument.  
  
Nicole sighed and turned over in her bed. She was used to her mother and aunt screaming at each other. They did it almost every day.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
well? wat did u think? good? bad? sucky? terrific? tell moi in toi's reviews!!!  
  
btw, i'm going 2 start posting my "movie recommendations of the week (or chapter)" after each chapter. so here r todays!!!  
  
1. The Women (Comedy/Drama starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell.......all female cast!!)  
  
2. Kramer vs. Kramer (Drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Oscar-winning Meryl Streep)  
  
3. {The} Hours (Drama starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Oscar- winning Nicole Kidman)  
  
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Musical claymation comedy starring Danny Elfman)  
  
5. Raintree County (War/Drama starring Oscar Nominee Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Eva Marie Saint) 


	2. A new friend and an old enemy

chapter numero dos!!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zelda sat in bed the next morning, reading her newest book called "Fast-Talking Dames." It took a behind-the-scenes look at some of her favorite comedians (including Rosalind Russell, Irene Dunne, Jean Harlow, and Jean Arthur). She was extremely pissed off that Katharine Hepburn was in it, though.  
  
A knock came at her door. "Yeah, come in."  
  
Peach entered the room, holding a large section of the newspaper. She tossed it at Zelda. "Here you go, Zellie."  
  
It was the want ads. "A job?" Zelda asked blankly.  
  
"Yes," Peach answered. "It's time you start pulling your weight around MY house, Zelda. You're practically nineteen years old. It's not the Depression, and I have faith that you can find a job."  
  
"Do I have to?" Zelda asked.  
  
"Yes. I'm going to work. Make sure Nicole gets to school on time and-- "  
  
"Peach, it's summer vacation. Nicole doesn't have any school."  
  
"Oh. Right. I knew that." She started heading out the door. "Well, like I said, I'm off to work."  
  
"Well wait a minute!" Zelda cried, jumping out of her bed. "What if I end up a work aholic like you? I don't want to be away all the time!"  
  
"Don't worry Zelda," Peach comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I highly doubt that you'll be able to find a job as time-consuming as. . .mine. . .you know, since you're an amateur. And I mean that in the best possible way. Good-bye!" And with that, she walked outside the front door.  
  
"You said you're supposed to look after me," Zelda growled at the closed door. "But how can you do that if you're away all the time?"  
  
"Who're talking too?" Nicole asked, entering the hallway. "My mom didn't leave already, did she?"  
  
"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," Zelda sighed, squatting down to the small child's level.  
  
Nicole's shoulders drooped. "It feels like she's leaving earlier and earlier every morning. I never get to say good-bye to her." She threw her arms around her Aunt's neck. "I'm glad you're here to be with me, Aunt Zelda."  
  
"I'm glad too," Zelda said, smiling. "Come on, now. What can we possibly do to make you feel better?"  
  
"Could we. . .watch a movie?" Nicole asked, switching her frown for a hopeful smile. "Please?"  
  
"Oh, all right!" Zelda laughed. Nicole grabbed her hand and dragged her towards their cabinet full of videos. "What do you want to watch?"  
  
Nicole was scanning a shelf that contained some of her favorite movies (Shrek, Scooby-Doo, Ice Age, and Titanic etc.), when she noticed a drawer she'd never seen before. Curiously, she put her hand on the knob.  
  
"What's in here?"  
  
She opened the drawer, and saw a large collection of older movies. "Aunt Zelda, whose are these?"  
  
Zelda ran a hand through her golden hair. "Those are. . .were Grandma's. They were her favorites. I still have them. I even watch them sometimes in my room."  
  
"The Awful Truth. . .Gone With the Wind. . .The Big Sleep. . .Auntie Mame. . . here, what's this one about?" Nicole asked, picking up a movie called Meet Me In St. Louis. She handed it to Zelda.  
  
"Well, it's a musical," Zelda answered. "About. . .well, I guess it's about a family of girls all trying to get boyfriends and get through life in the early 1900's." She looked at the back. "Hmm...Judy Garland, I forgot she was in this."  
  
"Ooh, let's watch that!" Nicole said.  
  
"Start it without me," Zelda said, handing the tape to her neice. "I've got to go on a couple errands."  
  
Nicole frowned. "Will you be back soon?"  
  
"Yes, I will," Zelda answered, smiling. "I'll be back before you can say 'Norma Jean Baker--or Marilyn Monroe--is the dumbest blonde who ever lived!'"  
  
"Norma who?" Nicole called after Zelda, as she walked out the front door.  
  
Zelda sighed and tromped down the front steps. She turned left, on her way to the grocery store. It wasn't too far away, convienently enough. Having used to work there before getting fired, Zelda was sometimes able to get discounts from her old friends that were still employed.  
  
"Super Smash Market. . .how I hate you," Zelda grumbled, walking into the store.  
  
She'd been fired for flirting with one of the shoppers. But not just any shopper. He was the son of the manager who owned the market's biggest rival (SmartFood). Feeling guilty that he had gotten her fired, the boy took her out for dinner. Then again. And again. Finally, they considered each other a couple.  
  
His name? Marth Lowell.  
  
Sighing, Zelda picked up some hamburger meat for Peach, cheddar chees for Summer, and some Veggie-burgers for herself (she was a strict vegetarian).  
  
Glancing at a display table and not watching where she was going, Zelda slipped on banana peel that someone had carelessly dropped on the floor. But before she could fall, someone caught her arms.  
  
Zelda looked up to see who'd caught her. "Marth!"  
  
"Zelda!" he said in disgust. Quite disgruntled, he dropped and let her fall down to the floor in a huff.  
  
"Woah!" Zelda cried as she fell, mostly from surprise.  
  
She heard footsteps from behind her as she slowly sat up. "Are you all right, Miss?" came a voice, as someone helped her to her feet.  
  
Zelda turned around and noticed that the man helping here was the dude from behind the free-samples table. She picked up her things off the floor, then her eyes slowly rose to meet his.  
  
"Erm, yeah. Thanks, I'm okay."  
  
The man had long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and it looked as if he was starting to grow a beard. Both his ears were studded with two earrings.  
  
"That guy's a big jerk," the guy said, as Zelda noticed that his name- tag read Link. "He comes in here a lot, just to harrass the workers."  
  
"Yeah, I know 'im," Zelda stammered. "He got me fired from here a little while ago, the freak."  
  
"So you used to work here?" Link asked.  
  
Zelda nodded, smiling. She drew her eyes from his, and looked over at his table. "So. . .what're you displaying over there?"  
  
"It's mango sorbet. Our newest flavor. Like to try some?"  
  
"Sure," Zelda replied. They walked over to the table, and he scooped some of the stuff into a cup for her. "Thanks. . .Link."  
  
"No problem. Enjoy!"  
  
"I'm sure I will," Zelda laughed, walking away."  
  
Link stared after her. He'd never seen anyone so gorgeous walk into the market before. She was unnaturally thin (Surely that couldn't be healthy, he thought). He was so busy staring after her, that he didn't realize that an old lady had been trying to get his attention for the past three minutes.  
  
"HEY, SONNY!" she finally shouted, whacking him on the head with her cane.  
  
"Ouch! Oh! Sorry, ma'am. Would you care to sample some of this mango sorbet?"  
  
"No," she responded coldly. "I'm allergic. I wanted to know if you sell any REAL fruit here. Yesterday I came and bought some grapes, and they tasted plastic! Fake! FAKE! As fake as Pamela Anderson's hair!! GET ME SOME REAL NOURISHMENT, YOUNG MAN!!"  
  
"Uh, the fruit section is over there," Link said, covering one of his ears and pointing to the left.  
  
"Don't speak such nonsense!" the old hag huffed. "Yesterday the fruit was over there!" She pointed a gnarled finger to the right.  
  
"Erm. . .ma'am, that's our collection of miraculously realistic wax/plastic fruits. Those grapes you bought WERE as fake as Pamela Anderson's hair. If not faker. . .no, not that fake."  
  
"Oh," the old lady said slowly. "Thank you, young man. You're very kind!" She put a sticker on his forehead that read "Save the Whales," then walked away.  
  
Link watched in amusement as the old woman bumped into Marth. "HOW DARE YOU BUMP INTO ME, YOU PATHETIC LAME CLARK GABLE WANNA-BE! I SHOULD SUE YOU!!"  
  
******  
  
After getting home, Zelda discovered that Nicole wasn't watching the movie as she'd expected. The TV wasn't on. "Nicole? Where are you?"  
  
"In my room!" she called out, right before running into the hallway to meet her Aunt. "I'm glad you're back!"  
  
"Yeah, I thought you were going to start that movie."  
  
"I was, but first I decided to find out who Norma Jean Baker was. I looked on the computer, and I couldn't find anything much. So then I looked up Marilyn Monroe, and a whole TON of stuff came up!"  
  
"I'll bet it did," Zelda laughed. "C'mon, help me put away this food and we can get started with this movie already."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
that okay? hope so. here are my recommendations!!!:  
  
1. Some Like It Hot (Comedy starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe)  
  
2. Edward Scissorhands (Drama/Comedy starring Johhny Depp and Winona Ryder)  
  
3. Sense and Sensibility (Drama/Comedy starring Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant)  
  
4. Miss Congeniality (Comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt)  
  
5. Ever After (Romance starring Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott and Anjelica Huston 


	3. Job Hunting

okay, here's da toid (third) chaptoi. (chapter).  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Good-bye, Aunt Zellie!" Nicole said, running into her friend's back yard (with her friend, of course). "C'mon Eliza, I'll race you to that tree!"  
  
"Mrs. Schreiber," Zelda said, addressing Eliza's mother. "Thanks so much for keeping Nicole here for me on such short notice. . ."  
  
"Oh, it's nothing!" Mrs. Schreiber laughed. "Nicole is always welcome here, Zelda. And, as my daughter's best friend's mother, you're welcome here also."  
  
"Um, thanks," Zelda said, stepping out of the house. She closed the door and frowned. That woman had mistaken her for Nicole's mother. That was oddly strange. Hadn't Mrs. Schreiber ever met Peach before?  
  
Zelda shook it off and took out the want ads. Peach had left early again that morning, and said that Zelda had 'better have a job by the time I get back. Or at least have tried.' She was determined.  
  
"Hmm....what can I do..." Zelda muttered to herself, searching the paper. "Hm. Hm, hm, hm. 'Chauffer wanted....blah blah blah....must be willing to drive two passengers to Boston Massachussettes by tomorrow.......' Well, Nicole's sleeping over the night at Eliza's, so maybe I could get away with this 'job' for now."  
  
So it wasn't really a job. But she would at least get paid well for it, so why not? She knew the way to Boston (or at least she thought she did). Zelda stopped at a phone booth and called the number given.  
  
"Ohhh.....it's the job thing, right?" came a gruff voice after she had explained the situation to him."  
  
"Yeah," Zelda answered.  
  
"Well, come on over! The sooner the better! We'll be providing you with a car--neither of us realized it, but" (he laughed)"our driver's licenses have both expired."  
  
"Okay, where can I find you?"  
  
Zelda wrote down his address, then stepped out of the booth. Then she realized she didn't know where the right street was. Passing the Super Smash market, she noticed that Link was standing outside of it, smoking a cigarette.  
  
She walked up to him. "Excuse me," she said, blushing. "But could you possibly point me in the direction of this street?" Zelda handed him the scrap of paper.  
  
Link took a look at the paper and lazily took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Take a left on that corner then hang right after the second stop light."  
  
"Thanks," she said, taking the paper back and beginning to walk away.  
  
"You just missed him," Link said after her.  
  
Zelda stopped. "Just missed who?"  
  
"Marth. I think he wanted to know where you were. But if I were you, I'd steer clear of him today. He seems to be in a pretty bad mood, if you know what I mean."  
  
"Oh, okay," Zelda said, a little confused. "Um. . .thanks, L-Link."  
  
He shrugged; his way of saying that it was no big deal. Zelda felt her heart flutter. She quickly turned away and walked in the direction Link had told her to go. At the spotlight, she saw a blue Ford waiting to turn left.  
  
'That looks a lot like our car,' Zelda said, not really taking another look at it. Peach was at work with the car anyway. They'd nicknamed it "Crappy Blue Car," because it was so old and. . .crappy.  
  
Zelda crossed the street, and walked up to the right apartment. She rang the buzzer, and the man she'd spoken to on the phone allowed her to go in. Zelda headed towards the stairs and walked up to the fourth floor.  
  
She knocked on the door, then gasped when it was opened.  
  
"MARTH!"  
  
"You miss nothing, do you?" Marth asked, grabbing Zelda's wrist and dragging her into the room. "Desperate to find a job, aren't you? Too bad you got fired from last one, isn't it?"  
  
"W-what's going on?" Zelda asked, feeling as if she wasn't about to get a job offering. Or at least the one she'd come for. . ."This isn't even your house--it's an apartment! And what're you doing here?!"  
  
"Well, there is ONE true thing about our advertisement," Marth said, ignoring Zelda's question. "There are two of us. My friend and I. Another innocent young girl like you has already answered our calls, and she is. . .negotiating. . .with my friend in that bedroom. I mean, room."  
  
Zelda's heart beat faster as she stared at the closed door, and was afraid to even think about what may be going on behind it.  
  
"It's a shame we broke up," Marth said. "I even admit to having wished that you might have been one of the people to call for the 'job.'" Stepping closer, his eyes roamed around Zelda's body, stopping briefly (but noticeably) at her chest.  
  
Getting nervous, Zelda took a half-step backwards. "And what if a man had answered to the job?"  
  
"Simple. We would've said that the job was already taken and that we wouldn't be needing his services." Marth stepped closer, and his hands reached for the zipper of Zelda's pants.  
  
"Stop!" Zelda said simply, quickly backing away from Marth and into the wall. "Just stop! You could be arrested for this!"  
  
"You won't tell anyone," Marth said, pinning Zelda against the wall. "You'd be afraid to. I know you, Zelda." He grabbed her arms and leaned closer to her.  
  
She tried to run. "Leave me alone, you son of a--!"  
  
Not about to be cursed off by his ex-girlfriend, Marth smashed his lips against hers. Not the romantic type of kiss she'd grown accustomed to. This one was forceful, and rough.  
  
Once the shock had worn off, Zelda pulled back her arm, and fired her fist at Marth's face. The force sent him to the ground, and he stared up at her in fear and alarm.  
  
"Zel, what was--"  
  
"You shut up and listen to me!" Zelda shouted. "I don't care if your dad owns the biggest supermarket in the country and if you are one of the richest people here! Understand me!? I don't care! I am NOT one of your ditzy little blondes who'll sleep with you whenever you want! I'm not like that, okay?!"  
  
"I can fix tha--"  
  
Zelda grasped the doorknob behind her. "You said you know me, but it's obvious that you don't! And don't you ever come near me again, or else I swear that I'll kill you!"  
  
Marth slowly got to his feet and walked towards her. Zelda turned, and lifted up her leg. Her black army boot collided with the side of Marth's head, and collapsed to the floor again, this time unconcious.  
  
"Hey, what's going on out there?" came a voice from behind the closed door.  
  
Sweating heavily, Zelda pulled the door open and flew down the four flights of stairs. She ran outside of the apartment, and headed towards a bus stop. Then it hit her: she had no money.  
  
The bus was just beginning to pull away from the stop. Zelda readied herself, then jumped onto the bumper at the last second. She was shocked to see that she was sharing her space with another passenger.  
  
"Hey," said Zelda. "Link. . ."  
  
"Hi," Link greeted, smiling at her.  
  
"Um. . .so, are you off work?"  
  
Link sighed. "Yeah. Permanently. I just got fired."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. The manager said that I had given a shopper a pound of turkey instead of a pound and a quarter." Link rolled his eyes. "He blamed me for getting it wrong, even though it's our crappy scales that aren't working."  
  
"Oh. . .I'm so sorry," Zelda apologized, frowning. "That dumb manager is really impatient with the workers. I feel terrible." She really did feel bad. Sighing, she pulled the want ads out of her pocket. "I'm looking for a job too. Maybe we could.... you know, kind of. . ." She blushed a deep red color.  
  
"Find a job together?" Link asked innocently, grinning. He'd had the same idea in mind. Zelda nodded with embarressment, and he continued. "I think that'd be a great idea, Zel. What positions are open?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night, Zelda sat in the living room, feeling quite accomplished. She and Link had both been hired by the management of The Cart house, a fancy resteraunt just uptown. Their head waiter and one of the waitresses had recently stepped out, and they were in need of two new workers. Perfect, wasn't it?  
  
Nicole's findings the other day had tempted Zelda to take another look at some of her late mother's favorite movies. Peach was often prejudiced against them, saying they were 'old, and not even in color.'  
  
But that didn't bother Zelda. She loved older movies as much as new ones. Whever people asked her what kind of genre she liked the most, she couldn't come up with an answer (her favorites ranged from Gone With the Wind to The Terminator to Oklahoma, to name a few).  
  
As of now, she was watching His Girl Friday; a movie starring her favorite comedian of all time--Rosalind Russell. Then she realized that I Love Lucy was on, and quickly turned over to it.  
  
It was the episode where Lucy and Ethel had to hitchhike all the way to Florida. It was one of her favorite episodes (a/n: and, conveniently enough, mine too!). Then she heard the door open, and Peach walked.  
  
"Hi Peach," Zelda said.  
  
"Hello. Slacking off as usual, I see. How'd the job hunting go?"  
  
"Fine," Zelda answered, deciding not to tell Peach about Marth. "I got a job as a waitress in The Cart house."  
  
"Waitress, huh?" Peach asked, taking out her earrings. "And at the Cart house, too. Not that bad."  
  
"Umm. . .thanks?" Zelda asked, unsure of what to say.  
  
Peach headed towards the bathroom.  
  
"In case you're wondering, Nicole is at Eliza's house," Zelda said.  
  
"Who's house?"  
  
"Eliza. Eliza Schreiber. Nicole's best friend."  
  
"Oh, yes! Right! Ha! Yeah, I was just about to ask you where she was. . .Um, okay. I'll be in the bath."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Zelda had been wondering whether or not to tell Peach that Mrs. Shcreiber had mistaken her for Nicole's mother. But she didn't.  
  
'Marth was right,' Zelda thought darkly, watching Lucy and Ethel attempt to fix a flat tire. 'I AM a coward.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
weeeeeeeeeeeeeell? a little weird, or what do u think??  
  
okay, i have officially titled my list o' movies as Zelda's Recommendations for the Day. K? here are the some of the ones posted on my bio...  
  
1. Titanic (Romance/Drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet)  
  
2. Charlie's Angels 1+2 (Action/Comedy starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu)  
  
3. On The Waterfront (Romance/Drama starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint)  
  
4. Gone With The Wind (War Drama/Romance starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable)  
  
5. It Happened One Night (Comedy/Romance starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable) 


	4. The Cart House

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Two weeks later, Zelda skipped into the empty kitchen. Well, today was the day. Her first time on the job. Feeling very pleased with herself, Zelda buttered some pieces of bread and threw them into the toaster oven.  
  
Waiting for the toast to toast, Zelda (who was feeling quite hyper) danced around the room singing.  
  
"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair--" she twirled around in the air "--don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there!!"  
  
Suddenly, Nicole leapt into the room and started to dance around and sing with her Aunt.  
  
"We will dance the hoochie-coochie--" (they had no idea what the 'hoochie coochie' was, but it was in the song) "--I will be your tootsie- wOOtsie, if you will meet me in St. Louis, Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuis, meet me aaaaaaaaaaat the faaaaaaaaaaaair!!!!!!"  
  
At that precise moment, the toaster dinged. Zelda, a little hot from all that jumping around, went over and got out her bread.  
  
"What perfect timing," Nicole commented, getting off the couch (which she had been bouncing on) and walking towards her Aunt. "EW!! Why is your toast all soggy like that?! It looks gross!!"  
  
"I buttered it before I toasted it," Zelda answered. "And it's not 'soggy.' I like it a lot better this way."  
  
"So what time am I going to Eliza's house?" Nicole asked, getting out some Frosted Flakes.  
  
"As soon as we both eat," Zelda answered. "I should be getting picked up in a little while."  
  
"Who's picking you up?"  
  
"Just a friend of mine. You don't know him."  
  
"A-HA!!" Nicole yelled, causing Zelda to spill the milk she'd been pouring for herself. "Soooooooo.......it's a guy, huh?"  
  
"He's just one of my co-workers," Zelda insisted, turning a bit pink. "I hardly even know the guy!"  
  
She turned slowly to face her neice. Nicole's eyelids lowered slightly, giving Zelda a very sarcastic look. "Whatever. I don't understand adults." She stressed the last word slightly.  
  
"Hey, I'm not an adult yet," Zelda said jokingly. "I'm still young at heart."  
  
"Yeah, I know. But every time I hear mother speaking all lovey-dovey on the telephone to that guy, I have to--"  
  
"What're you talking about?" Zelda asked, sitting down to face Nicole. "Who's your mother been calling?"  
  
"The wall between our rooms must be really thin," Nicole started, "because I can always hear her really late at night."  
  
'She's been telling me that those are buisiness calls!' Zelda thought to herself. "Nicole, when did you start--"  
  
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Zelda stood up and answered it. "Oh, hi Link!" She yawned. "Is it time to go?"  
  
"Yep, just about," Link answered, grinning. "We don't want to be late for work."  
  
"Here, come on inside for a sec," Zelda said. "I need to get something from my room really quick."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Smiling impishly, Nicole walked up to Link and shook his hand vigorously. He looked down at her. "Hi! I'm Nicole. You must be Zelda's co- irker."  
  
Link glanced up and saw Zelda come out of her room. Nicole was still enthusiastically shaking his hand. "I didn't know you had a kid," he said dumbly, his cheeks subtly turning red.  
  
"Oh, I see you've meet," Zelda laughed. "This is Nicole, my neice."  
  
"Ohhhh," Link said. Zelda, blushing a bit herself, gently nudged Nicole, who quickly dropped Link's hand. "So ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah, go on out, I'll be there in just a second."  
  
"Kay." Link walked out the door and stepped inside his car. He banged his head on the dashboard. "Man, I sounded like such an idiot!"  
  
Zelda squatted down to Nicole's level. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I won't be too late. Mrs. Schreiber's going to drive past the house in a minute to pick you up, so look out the window for her and don't leave the house, okay?"  
  
Nicole nodded. "Got it."  
  
"Okay, bye sweetie." She leaned forward and kissed Nicole's forehead, then stood up and headed towards the door.  
  
"By the way Aunt Zelda," Nicole called after her. "He's really cute!"  
  
Chuckling a bit, Zelda walked outside of the house and shut the front door behind her. She hopped down the steps and got into Link's car. "All right, let's go!" After a few minutes of driving, she said, "Boy, it's hot. Mind if I open a window?"  
  
"Feel free," Link said smoothly.  
  
Grinning, Zelda rolled the window all the way down and stuck her head outside of it. "That feels much better. Ooh, that's a tall skyscraper."  
  
As they came to a light, Zelda twisted her head to see exactly how tall the building went. Link quickly took the opportunity to stare at her.  
  
Both of them were already in their Cart House "uniforms," a white top and a black bottom. Zelda was donning a button-down collared white shirt, which showed a little cleavage (but not too much). She wore a short black skirt, and her hair was loosely pulled back in a pony tail.  
  
'How does she make such a preppy outift look so. . .sexy?' he thought.  
  
Then Link noticed that the light was green, and he sped on. Zelda brought her head back inside the car. "I notice that your little beard is gone," she remarked after a long and embarressed silence.  
  
"Yeah," Link said flatly. "The manager of the Cart House said he didn't believe in men having facial hair of any sort."  
  
"Well, I'm surpised then that he didn't make you shave off your eyebrows," Zelda joked, making Link chuckle a bit. 'Ooh!' she thought. 'Score!' "Well, if it makes you feel any better at all, I think that y--er. . .you look just as good beardless as you did with the little one you had before." 'Oh! Bad! Weird sentance that didn't even make sense!'  
  
"Erm thanks," Link said grinning.  
  
While he kept his eyes on the road, Zelda took the chance to stare hungrily at him. His black pants were a bit baggy, but that looked rather appealing on him (or so she thought). Link's collared shirt was tucked into a black leather belt that barely held up his pants. His eyes were a piercing shade of blue, and his hair feel softly over his shoulders.  
  
A small sigh escaped Zelda. 'Nicole was right,' she thougt. 'He IS cute! Hot!'  
  
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Cart house. They both got out of the car and paused in front of the door.  
  
"Well, here we go," Link said. "First day. Nervous?"  
  
"Nervous/excited," Zelda answered as they walked inside. They found the manager, who dragged them into her office, delivered a speech, then sent them off.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After a long day, Link drove Zelda home. She got of his car and smiled at him. "Thanks for the ride. "I really appreciate it!"  
  
"No problem," he said, grinning.  
  
As soon as Zelda walked inside, she collapsed onto the couch. "Now I know how Mildred Pierce must feel," she muttered.  
  
Nicole bounded into the room. "Hi, Aunt Zellie!"  
  
"Hey!" Zelda said, sitting up and smiling. "How long have you been home all by yourself?"  
  
"Who said she was alone?" asked Peach, walking in. "I was able to come off work early. How was your first day?"  
  
"Oh boy, don't get me started," Zelda sighed, leaning back down on the couch. "First there was a party of eleven, with nine kids who all kept on changing their orders. Then there was this old guy who didn't know that our Spaghetti Marinara actually had pasta in it, and he was allergic to it and got all mad at me for it....then Link told me that he had two people with--"  
  
"Who's Link?" Peach asked.  
  
"Oh," Zelda said, blushing lightly. "He's just this guy who works at the Cart house too. Y'know, just a co-worker that I'm kinda sorta half- friends with."  
  
"He drove her to work!" Nicole added.  
  
"He made the offer, and I didn't want to seem rude," Zelda insisted, looking at Peach. "Don't get that look in your eye!"  
  
"What look?" Peach asked innocently, smiling broadly.  
  
"I have an excellent idea," Zelda said. She promptly picked up a newspaper and whacked Peach on the head with it. "Let's change the subject."  
  
"Why don't we.......hit the mall?" Peach suggested, rubbing her head. "We can eat at the foodcourt."  
  
"Sure," Zelda agreed. "I can go to Hot Topic!"  
  
"That okay with you, Nicole?" Peach asked.  
  
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY------"  
  
"Guess so," Zelda said, as they started to walk out the door.  
  
"--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY----"  
  
"Haven't been to the mall in a while," Peach commented. "This'll be fun! Oh for heaven's sakes, Nicole! Stop that screaming!"  
  
"-------AAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY--yoooookay."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
a/n:  
  
okaaaaaaaaay..............review, plz. 


	5. A Scarlett O'Hara of a bad soap opera

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Zelda and Link walked out of the Cart House on their sixth day of work. Smiling happily, Zelda gave Link a high-five.  
  
"Almost a week at work! I feel so accomplished!"  
  
"Exciting, isn't it?" Link asked, as they got inside his car.  
  
"Yeah, I've never really had a job I've liked so much!! The first day was rough, but I'm getting used to it!"  
  
"Where else have you worked?"  
  
"Oh, don't get me started!" Zelda sighed, rolling her eyes. "Sales clerk, Ice Cream scooper, candy shop co-worker. . ." They passed a McDonald's. "My first job was over at Mickey D's."  
  
"So was mine," Link laughed. "I worked the cash register."  
  
"Me too," Zelda commented. "It was a lot more confusing than I thought it would be, though. My sister is a psycho about me having a job. I guess it's because I've been staying with her for a while. . .y'know, looking after her daughter while she's at work."  
  
"Oh. Well, here we are." Link slowly brought the car to a stop.  
  
"Thanks so much," Zelda said, getting out. "You're so sweet for driving me to and from work every day!"  
  
"No problem," Link said, blushing. "You're right on my way!"  
  
From inside the house, Zelda watched Link outside the window. He pulled into her driveway, then turned around the car and went the way he came.  
  
'Hmmm....that's funny,' Zelda thought. 'He usually goes the other way.'  
  
After calling their names around the house, Zelda discovered that neither Peach or Nicole were home. She sat down at the kitchen table and wondered what to do to pass the time until dinner.  
  
Since tomorrow was the 4th of July, the Cart House had been closed early (though Zelda was a little confused about why it had been). Peach wasn't very patriotic, and the 4th was exactly one of her favorite holidays, but they always went to see fireworks together anyway.  
  
Walking into Peach's room, Zelda found an old high school year book. She flipped through it a bit, finding some of her old teachers, friends, enemies, and boyfriends. Lying down on Peach's bed and flipping through the pages, Zelda slowly started remembering that day in high school that still stood out.....  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
"Did you hear?" Fox asked Ness, his best friend. "I just found out from Samus--Peach Toadstool and Zelda Harkinian are half-sisters!!"  
  
"Wow, really?" Ness asked. "What a coincidence!! The two hottest girls in school are related!"  
  
"Yeah, and to think that they used to be worst enemies."  
  
It was sadly true. Before realizing they had the same mother, Zelda and Peach were huge rivals. They always did their best to outdo the other. There was the time that Peach flushed Zelda's biology notes down the toilet; when Zelda had allegedly "made out" with Peach's boyfriend, and when both had accused the other of cheating on a standardized state test.  
  
Then one day, Zelda, who'd been staying with her (now late) Uncle-in- law, answered the door. That fateful day. The woman standing in front of her burst into tears, and Uncle Joe was forced to explain the whole situation.  
  
Three days later, Zelda moved in with the Toadstools. The next day, Peach and Zelda had suddenly become the best of friends. The day was filled with apologies like "I'm sorry I set your dog on fire," and "I'm sorry I put sea monkeys in your lemonade," and "I'm sorry that I framed you for pulling the fire alarm."  
  
*PRESENT*  
  
Zelda couldn't help but smile when she saw the "Seniors and their Siblings" page, which showed Peach and Zelda walking down the hallway arm- in-arm and grinning. Everyone called it a classic, because it was spontaneous.  
  
Flipping the page, Zelda saw the school wrestling team. She glanced up and saw Peach's poster of Ah-nold. Way back when, Zelda had dated an older body builder.  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Roy asked.  
  
"Yes!" Zelda cried, unbuttoning Roy's shirt and tossing it to the ground. "This is what I've lived for!"  
  
"I'm just thinking of you."  
  
"Well all you need to know is that I love you," Zelda said, taking his hands and putting them on her coat collar. "More than anyone or anything in the whole universe!"  
  
Roy started unzipping Zelda's jacket, then stopped and shut his eyes. "I can't," he said, backing up.  
  
"Why not?" Zelda asked, feeling that he was joking. She placed her hands on his shoulders, moving her tongue from his upper chest to his neck. "C'mon Roy, this is what you want!"  
  
"No, it's not!" Roy said. "I can't, because. . .because. . ." He sighed heavily, not able to meet her eyes. "I should've told you this before, Zelda. I've already impregnated a woman today. She's my wife. I-I'm already married."  
  
*PRESENT*  
  
The next thing she knew, Zelda was almost drowning in her own tears. Roy had broken her heart that day. He'd led her to believe he loved her, carrying on an affair with her when he was already married!  
  
'Damned jerk!' Zelda thought angrily to herself. She'd loved him so much and so sincerely, and yet he just played around with her. He completely broke her heart.  
  
She'd sworn never to go out with a man again, but of course she broke the promise. Zelda had had several boyfriends in her time, but none that she loved as much as Roy. . .and none that she ever had genuine feelings for. Perhaps all that time she'd been trying to make him jealous.  
  
'I feel like I'm the Scarlett O'Hara of some bad soap opera!' Zelda said inwardly.  
  
Zelda stood up and headed out the door. She felt like going to the gym to work out. Almost every week she went there, maybe from Roy or just because she didn't want to become a fragile old hag (probably the latter one).  
  
After about a fifteen minute walk, Zelda reached the gym. She saw a throng of girls her age crowding around one of the windows that peered into the partially underground gym. Curious, Zelda walked over.  
  
"What's up?" she asked, recognizing one of her friends, Saria.  
  
"Those guys down there," Saria answered excitedly. "Duh! Have you ever seen how hot some of them are?!"  
  
"Kinda," Zelda said. "But whenever I come here, I normally focus on my exercising. There can't be anyone too good-looking in there, because I'd have noticed them before."  
  
"HEY GIRLS, MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!!" Saria shouted, pushing through some of the gals. "WE HAVE A NON-BELIEVER HERE!!"  
  
There were several gasps of astonishment at this statement as Saria pointed at the window. "Look in there, Zel! That guy in the right corner! Y'know, the one with a 45 pound dumbell ring on his chest doing sit-ups!! See him?!"  
  
See him? She sure did. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!!" she exclaimed. "That's Link!!"  
  
"You mean you know that guy?" asked a girl.  
  
"KNOW him? He's my co-worker, and one of my friends!!"  
  
"You're friends with that hunk??" Saria asked excitedly. Zelda nodded numbly. Saria pushed her towards the gym door. "Well if you came here to work out, Zellie, you go in there and work out!! And talk to him, he's so hot!"  
  
"Hey, wait!" Zelda protested as Saria literally shoved her at the door. "Don't I have a say in this??"  
  
"Of course not."  
  
Saria opened the door and flung Zelda inside. Suddenly, she felt very nervous and vulnerable. Gulping, she took off her light coat (there had been a bit of a breeze on the way up), which revealed a light blue tank top.  
  
Zelda walked down the stairs. She stood on her toes and peered through the glass on one of the doors. If she went in, she'd be the only girl in there. Her eyes finally found Link, and she put a hand on the door handle.  
  
'Target acquired,' she thought to herself. 'Here I go!"  
  
She pushed open the door. Pretending not to notice he was there, Zelda walked past him and headed towards the punching bag.  
  
"What's she doing?!" one of the observing girls shouted. "She went and walked right past him!"  
  
"She's going for the coy attack, I think," Saria said.  
  
As Link was doing the "up" part of his sit-ups, he saw her. "Zelda!" he said in shock. He crashed to the ground. Quickly, he stood up as she turned around.  
  
"Oh Link, hi! Fancy meeting you h-here. . ."  
  
Zelda's eyes had practically glued themselves to Link's chest. A perfect six pack, and arms that did them no shame. He was simply a mountain of muscle.  
  
"Zel, you okay?" Link asked, waving a hand in front of her face.  
  
"Oh!" she said, coming back to earth. "Er, yeah! Fine! Heh heh! I was just punchin' this ole punching bag here!!" She took a swing at it, her eyes still fixed on Link, which caused her to miss badly.  
  
"Your swing was a little off," Link said. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently steered her towards it. "Here, lift your right hand like this," he instructed, positioning her arm, "and then swing it like this."  
  
Zelda bit her lower lip to stop from smiling, even though he wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. She knew the right way to punch, but she wasn't going to let that stop Link from teaching her how. Zelda backed up a bit, then swung her first as hard as she could.  
  
The punching bag swayed back, then came flying forward. Instinctively, Zelda got to the floor, but the bag hit Link full force. He flew back to the ground.  
  
Zelda turned around in horror. "Oops! Oh, sorry Link!" she said in a very small voice. She walked towards him on her knees and tried to help him up. Her heart fluttered as she felt his bare back and arm with her hands.  
  
Link sat up and wriggled his jaw. "You hit that thing pretty hard," he acknowledged, getting up with a laugh.  
  
"Are you all right?" Zelda inquired, getting to her feet as well.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Link answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Erm. . .do you come here a lot?"  
  
Feeling a little guilty, Zelda shrugged. "Every other week or so. How about you? I've never seen you here before, I don't think."  
  
"I've just started coming a little while ago," Link said. There was an awkward silence until he said, "Um.....I've been kind of wondering about something......do you have any plans for--for dinner tonight?"  
  
Zelda was floored. She tried to speak, but it felt as though her heart had flown up into her throat, which made it very difficult to talk. "N-no," she finally managed.  
  
Link turned a deep shade of red (but it was hard to notice, because he was already red from all the working out he'd been doing). "Th-then would you possibly consider maybe perhaps....um....going out tonight? With me?"  
  
Zelda's eyes widened. "Sure, I'd love to!" she gushed. "That sounds great!"  
  
'YEEEEEEEES!!!!!!' Link thought, smiling broadly. "I--I've just got to go home and change out of this. . .can I pick you up in say. . .twenty minutes?"  
  
"I'll be ready!" Zelda laughed.  
  
"Great! Do you want a ride home, or anything?"  
  
"No, thank you, it's only a little--I'll walk. But thanks!"  
  
"No prob." Link walked into the locker room to get his bag, and Zelda flew towards the stairs.  
  
An Ah-nold look alike stopped Zelda from going through the doors. "Have you ever been here before, babe?" he asked, giving her the "up-and- down" look.  
  
"Yeah," she answered roughly.  
  
"Have we met before?" he asked. "Hong Kong? Peru?"  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Zelda laughed. She shoved his arm out of the way and quickly scaled the staircase.  
  
"We saw it ALL!!!" Saria squealed, who had gone to meet Zelda at the front doors. "What did you guys say?"  
  
The small crowd of girls all ran up to the steps to find out (even though the majority of them didn't even know who Zelda was).  
  
"Well, believe it or not," Zelda began, making her way down the steps. "I've got a date with him."  
  
"When for?" half of the girls asked.  
  
"In twenty minutes, so I'd better be getting home to change!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A/N:  
  
Scarlett O'Hara: Fiddle-dee-dee. I hate Ashley Wilkes!!!  
  
Roy: Wow, I'm a Fanny Ferris Butt.  
  
Zelda: You're even MORE of a butt than fanny!  
  
Peach: Would you care to explain this whole "Fanny Ferris Butt" thing?  
  
Nicole: Didn't you ever see Sense and Sensibility? With Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and others?  
  
Peach..................no.......................  
  
Link: Well there's a really evil sister character named Fanny Ferris.  
  
Zelda: So we think that her mother knew she'd grow up to be a butt, and that's why she was named Fanny.  
  
Peach: Ohhhhhhhhh, NOW I get it..............I think.  
  
Sawyerzelda: I love that movie!!  
  
Link: Hey, where does your penname come from, anyway? Like, the sawyer part?  
  
Sawyerzelda: You reeeeeeeeeeeeally wanna know? Welll, you can go and review my story to ask, Link!! which isn't a bad idea, readers. plz review!!! 


	6. It's A Date!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Twenty minutes later, Link walked up to Zelda's front door. He quickly looked himself over. A large black leather jacket which was zipped half-way up partially covered a white T-shirt. His pants were also black, and sagged a bit.  
  
Zelda was waiting nervously by the door.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Peach said, massaging her sister's shoulders after she and Nicole had been told everything.  
  
"What if I make an idiot of myself??" Zelda asked worriedly.  
  
"You won't," Peach assured her. "Wow, you must really like this guy."  
  
"What makes you say that??"  
  
"Well, you've never exactly been this worried and anxious about a date like this before," Peach answered. "Just calm down and be yourself. You're going to be oooooookay, okay?"  
  
"All right."  
  
Zelda was wearing blue and black rubber braclets on one arm, army boots, a velvety black jacket, and a khaki skirt (complete with zippered pockets). Her shirt was black with a flying kitten on it.  
  
Peach turned off the air conditioner. "Why is it so cold outside?" she asked. "It's supposed to be warm in summer!!"  
  
"Mother Nature must be making up for that warm Christmas we had," Nicole suggested. "That sucked!"  
  
The doorbell rang, causing the three of them to jump. "C'mon, Nicole," Peach giggled, taking her daughter into her room.  
  
Gulping, Zelda opened the door and smiled warmly. "Hi!"  
  
"Hey," said Link, as she closed the door behind her. "Like motorbikes?"  
  
For the first time, Zelda noticed a large black motorcycle parked in the streets. She gasped and ran towards it, laughing giddily.  
  
"My Uncle had motorcycle just like this one!!" Zelda said. "He used to take me riding on it all the time!!"  
  
"Really? That's cool," Link said. "I know a lot of girls who are nervous around cycles, and their mothers don't even let them come within ten feet of me!"  
  
"Yes.....boys and bikes seem to have a bad reputation around here," Zelda laughed.  
  
Link swung one leg over the motorcycle and motioned for Zelda to do the same behind him. Willingly, she did. He put on a large black helmet and handed one to Zelda.  
  
"You're forgetting something," Link said, grinning.  
  
"I am?"  
  
"You should put your arms around me so you don't fall off," Link advised her. "Didn't your Uncle tell you that?"  
  
"Oh yeah, how stupid of me," Zelda muttered. As Link started to rev up the bike, she smiled and put her arms around his waist. She let out a subtle gasp as they lurched forward and rode off. It had been a while since her last time on a motorcycle.  
  
"So what's the plan for tonight?" Zelda asked.  
  
Link shrugged. "I was thinkin' dinner then a movie, or vice versa or whatever. Do have a preferance?"  
  
"Dinner and a movie sounds great to me!" Zelda sighed.  
  
At a spotlight, Zelda gently rested her head on Link's back. He grinned and felt his heart beat faster. "S-so where d'you think we should eat?"  
  
"Hmm....how about one of those retro 50's diners?" Zelda asked. "Like Johnny Rocket's or something?"  
  
"Sure, I go there all the time!" Link consented, turning left when the light switched to green.  
  
A few minutes later, they pulled into the diner and got out. Zelda took off her helmet and shook her head of blonde hair. "Well, that was fun! I love motorcycles, but we've never been able to get one."  
  
"Yeah, they're cool."  
  
Link and Zelda headed towards the entrance and were greeted by a waitress named Cindy, who was loudly chewing some Bazooka gum.  
  
"How many?" she asked before blowing an enormous bubble.  
  
"Two," Link answered.  
  
"Please follow me," she said in a monotone. They stopped at a booth after walking two paces. "Ah. Young love," she said in the same boring voice, making Link and Zelda blush as she walked away.  
  
"It certainly feels nice to actually be eating at a restaurant and not be serving at it," Zelda sighed.  
  
"Yeah," Link said. "I have this weird feeling like I should dash into the kitchen and help deliver all the food, you know?"  
  
"It's weird, isn't it?" Zelda laughed. She picked up a menu and gasped. "JMJ!!"  
  
Link gave her a confused look.  
  
"Sometimes I say JMJ instead of Jesus, Mary and Joseph because it takes less time and it......like.......never mind. But they have Shirley Temples!! It's been years since I've had a Shirley Temple!!"  
  
"That is so weird," Link chuckled. "I love them too! Once I was at this place and I asked for a Shirley Temple, and they said those were for girls, and that Roy Rogers were for boys. So I got the Roy Rogers and they used Coke instead of Sprite." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I hate Coke!"  
  
"Well, that's where we're different," Zelda said. "I practically live on it! And there's probably another thing we don't have in common: I'm a vegetarian."  
  
"Really? Cool. I try so hard to be one, but I just couldn't live without chicken or corn dogs, I don't think. Mostly I stay away from red meat, though. The occasional burger does it for me. . .which is what I'm ordering."  
  
"I guess I'll just have the cheese sandwhich. And a chocolate malt! Gotta have that chocolate malt!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After dinner, Link and Zelda walked across the street and turned the corner to get to a movie theater.  
  
"Let's see....what's playing?" Zelda wondered aloud.  
  
"Hmm.....Freaky-Friday, Uptown Girls, Tomb Raider, Whale Rider....wanna see that? It's supposed to be really good."  
  
"Um, okay."  
  
So they bought tickets for Whale Rider and went inside the theater.  
  
About ten minutes in, both of them were thinking, 'Man, this is the dullest thing I have EVER had to sit through!' But they didn't want to mention this, because they believed that the other was enjoying it.  
  
Then half-way through the movie, Zelda felt something brush against her leg. She looked down, but didn't see anything there. 'Must have been the air vent,' she thought to herself.  
  
Seconds later, she felt it again: something brushing up and down her exposed leg. The third time this happened, convinced it was a bug or something, she reached down to flick it away. Then she realized it wasn't a bug: someone was running their hand up and down her leg!  
  
Her eyes widened, and she instinctively looked at Link. His arms were folded as he stared at the screen. Slowly, Zelda turned her head slightly and glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye. She saw a middle-aged man reach down below her seat.  
  
Quickly, Zelda nudged Link and stood up. She jerked her head in a way of telling him to follow her and they left the theater.  
  
"What's wrong?" Link asked. "Are you okay?"  
  
"There was some guy behind me and he kept on running his hand up and down one of my legs!" she squealed. "Sorry, but I just had to get out of there!"  
  
Link looked a little surprised, but felt he shouldn't have been. Zelda DID have very nice legs, after all. He stared at them for a moment, then looked up at her face. "Actually, it's fine. To tell you the truth, I was bored to death."  
  
"Yeah, I was too. I would've left sooner and spared my leg, but I thought you were liking it."  
  
"Well I thought YOU were liking it," Link laughed as they walked towards the motorcycle. "Maybe we should've gone to see Tomb Raider."  
  
"Yeah, maybe tomorrow or something. It's not playing anymore."  
  
"Okay. I'll drive you home."  
  
A small while later, they reached Zelda's house. She got off the bike and turned around to face Link. "Thanks for taking me out, Link. I really had fun....except for that freaky guy in the theater." She gave his cheek a small kiss. "You're sweet. Night!"  
  
Link could only smile as she skipped up the steps and went into the house. He rode away, his grin getting bigger and bigger as he drove faster. She'd kissed him.  
  
As he walked inside his apartment, his roommate Luigi was there to greet him.  
  
"So how-a was-a the date, lover-a boy?" he asked.  
  
"It was great!" Link answered. "She even kissed me good-bye!!"  
  
"Not-a bad. I didn't-a get a kiss-a from-a my girlfriend until-a our fif-a teenth date! You lucky-a guy!"  
  
Walking into the bathroom, Link silently agreed with Luigi: he was lucky. He'd finally found a girl he really liked.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
a/n:  
  
i...........hate.............absolutely HATE WHALE RIDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it sucked!!!! i'm sry to all it's fans out there, i really am, but i was so totally bored!! i wanted 2 go c tomb raider, but NOOOOOOO my parents literally forced me 2 c whale rider!!!  
  
btw, plz review 


	7. Independence Day

a/n: wow, its been so long! but i have been sooooooooooooo busy!!!!! school sux!! its a butt!! it should die!!! (lol, jackie)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Zelda walked about the kitchen humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She'd had it stuck in her head ever since last night when she'd watched Young Frankenstein.  
  
Then Peach came marching in, singing the almighty chorus of "Glory, glory Hallelujah." She the day off of work too, since it was the fourth of July."Makin' something for breakfast, Zellie?"  
  
"Yep," Zelda answered. "Pancakes."  
  
"How nice. How did your date go? I didn't get a chance to ask you last night...as soon as you walked through the door, you crashed."  
  
"It went really great," Zelda replied, smiling. "There was just this creep at the movie theater sitting behind me, and he kept running his hands up my leg."  
  
"Pervert!" Peach snorted. "What did you go see?"  
  
"Whale Rider," Zelda sighed, rolling her eyes. "If you ever plan on seeing that, don't. It was boredom to a T."  
  
"Sounded kinda dull," Peach agreed. "I don't suppose Nicole is up yet, is she?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Peach watched as her sister placed a bowl in the pan that had butter in it. "I'll never understand your cooking methods, Zelda."  
  
"What? I'm just melting the butter."  
  
"Do you know when the fireworks are going to start?" Peach asked, suddenly changing the subject.  
  
"That depends," Zelda said. "Where are we seeing them this year?"  
  
Smiling, Peach stood up from her chair and threw her arms up. "We're seeing them at the U.N.!!!"  
  
"We are??" Zelda asked in astonishment.  
  
"YES!! My boss had some tickets for his family to go, but his wife's taken ill. He felt guilty going with just their son and without her, so he gave the tickets to me for being such a diligent worker!!!"  
  
"Wow, that's great!" Zelda cried. "I've always wanted to see the fireworks at the United Nations!!"  
  
"Yeah, but I forgot what time they're starting. C'mon, let's go check on the Internet."  
  
As the sisters ran into Peach's bedroom, Nicole was starting to get dressed. A few minutes later, she left her room and crossed the hall to the bathroom.  
  
"Seven thirty, how nice," Peach commented. "Let's go back to the kitchen. I'm starving!"  
  
"Okay."  
  
When they reached the kitchen, Peach came to an immediate halt. "ZELDA!! YOUR BUTTER!!! IT'S BEING WEIRD!!!"  
  
Zelda stepped in front of her sister for a better look, and realized she was right. Apparently, she'd left the butter over the fire for too long. The butter was fizzing and shooting out of the bowl, kind of like a--  
  
"Mini fireworks show!" Peach cried. "Wow. This is freaky and cool at the same time. How do we put it out?"  
  
Holding onto each other for dear life, the two sisters inched closer to the bubbling container. Suddenly it fizzed loudly, and some burning butter shot towards them. Zelda and Peach screamed in unison, jumping back.  
  
"It's possessed!!" they screamed.  
  
At that point, Nicole walked in, dropped a plastic bag over her head, and turned off the burner. The butter immediately stopped fizzing and it retreated to a small pool at the bottom of the bowl.  
  
Peach stared at her daughter. "Wow...thanks, Nicole."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Sighing, Peach sat down at the table. "May the Lord have mercy on my soul today...I'm so tired. And I'm also scared of getting claustrophobic. There are going to be so many people at the United Nations tonight!!!"  
  
"You'll be fine," said Zelda. "It's outside, so you don't have to worry about a thing. I guess we're kind of living mom's dream, aren't we?"  
  
"'Spose so," Peach sighed, as Nicole skipped out of the room. "She always wanted to watch the fireworks at the UN." She shook her head and stood up. "D'you want any help with those pancakes, Zel?"  
  
"Yeah, sure..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hours later, the threesome were walking past a large church on their way to the United Nations. Nicole saw a hobo and mistook him for a circus clown, and it took Peach and Zelda while to work their way out of that one.  
  
"Honey, I don't think you should walk up to strangers in this city and ask them for dog-shaped balloons," Peach advised, as they finally walked away.  
  
"His shoes were big and he was wearing a red nose!" Nicole defended.  
  
"She has a point," Zelda smirked.  
  
"Wow, is that the line to get inside?" Peach asked incredulously, as they approached their destination.  
  
"Must be," Zelda said in awe. "Woah, it's really long. Then of course, we'll have to go through those metal detector things in that little tent thingy up there...this could take some time, I'm afraid."  
  
"Dude, that sucks," Peach said. "It's sweltering out here!! Why must they force us to die out here in this heat?? WHY?!"  
  
"Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to do and die," Nicole quoted.  
  
Peach and Zelda stared at her for several minutes.  
  
"Where on earth did you learn Alfred Lord Tennyson??" the latter exclaimed.  
  
Nicole shrugged. "I heard that in a movie once. Clue."  
  
"Oh yeah," Peach said. "Now I remember that part! The dinner scene!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When they had finally gotten through all the lines, Peach, Zelda and Nicole attempted to find a place to sit.  
  
"This place is really packed," Zelda observed.  
  
"You ain't just whistlin' dixie," Peach agreed, quoting Clue once more.  
  
"Zelda!"  
  
Zel looked around her to see who had called her name. She saw Link kneeling by a large lampost and gesturing towards her. She grinned, and the three of them made their way towards him.  
  
"Hi!" Zelda said.  
  
"Hey! Are you looking for a place to sit?"  
  
"Kind of...it's a bit crowded around here. You wouldn't happen to have room for me and my family, would you?"  
  
"Sure, sit down."  
  
"Thanks...this is my sister Peach, and my neice Nicole.  
  
"Hi," Peach greeted warmly, shaking Link's hand.  
  
"Hello, Nicole," Link said. "We've met before, haven't we?"  
  
"Yep!" she answered, winking a rather obviously clear wink.  
  
"How long have you been here?" Zelda asked Link.  
  
He shrugged. "I dunno. Probably like a half an hour or something. Traffic on the way up was unbelievable, and I don't even live that far away!! I must've hit rush hour, or something bad."  
  
"Yeah," Zelda said simply.  
  
While Link was busy looking for something in his bag, Peach leaned over to Zelda and whispered, "He's hot, Zel! You must really like him--I noticed that we've stopped fighting all the time!"  
  
Zelda realized Peach was right. She grinned.  
  
Nicole leaned towards Peach and whispered something. They both stood up, and Peach said with a small sigh, "We'll be right back. We've got to find a bath room."  
  
Once Peach and Nicole left, there was a long, uncomfortable silence between Link and Zelda.  
  
"You know," Link finally began, "I think I've seen you some time before, Zel. Like I've already met you...?"  
  
"I was thinking that too!" Zelda said.  
  
"Was it in school, down in Perokio street?"  
  
"Yes!! It must've been!" Zelda gasped. "Gosh Link, now I remember you!! You were one of the first people I met when I had moved to the city from the countryside."  
  
"I don't like the country. The crickets make me nervous...of course, there are some here too...unforunately. Y'know I remember your hair...you had your hair in--"  
  
"Braids."  
  
"Yeah...and you had glasses, and wire on your teeth and everyth...boy, you were really a mess!"  
  
"Thanks...?"  
  
"Ah, I'm just kiddin' you a bit. What I mean to say is that...you grew up nice." He choked on his words, hoping he hadn't said something offensive."  
  
Zelda smiled a bit. "Thanks."  
  
"Um...like gum?" he asked, fiddling around for some in his pocket.  
  
"Is it Bazooka Joe?" Zelda joked. No one ever had Bazooka Joe anymore (her favorite kind).  
  
"Actually, it is."  
  
"Really?? I love Bazooka Joe!! Thanks!"  
  
"S'okay."  
  
A few minutes later, Nicole and Peach came back. "Is that you poppin' your gums?" Peach joked, indicating Zelda. "I thought the fireworks had already started..."  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Zelda smirked. She had to admit that she did have a rather bad habit of chewing her gum a bit loudly. "Here, read this." Zelda tossed the Bazooka Joe comic at her sister, who caught it and read it with a laugh.  
  
"These jokes are so lame!! Are they even supposed to be funny?!"  
  
"Doesn's seem like it, does it?" Link asked with a grin.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hmm....I think they'll be starting soon," Peach said. She pointed out all the lit up boats and buildings by the shore. "See all those over there?"  
  
"Yeah, those are so cool!" Nicole giggled.  
  
"DUDE, THEY'RE STARTING!!!!!" Zelda shouted.  
  
Indeed, the fireworks had started to go off. A dazzling display of roman candles (.....) let up the sky. Nicole turned for a second, and saw people standing on a large wall nearby. "Ooh, mommy, can we go over there???"  
  
Peach followed her daughter's gaze and smiled involuntarily. "All right. We'll be back, guys."  
  
As soon as Peach and Nicole were out of sight, Zelda leaned back into Link's chest (both were still seated). Link's arms snaked around her waist. Zelda grinned in silent pleasure, savoring his touch. Link put his chin on her shoulder and blew softly into her ear. She blushed.  
  
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Zelda whispered, meaning the fireworks.  
  
"Yes," Link responded.  
  
"I'm glad I've got someone to share with that I..." Zelda stopped. "I..." She wasn't exactly sure how to end the sentence...how to describe this feeling. She'd never felt in before in her life, not even when she'd been with Roy.  
  
Slowly, Zelda turned her head slightly, her face barely an inch away from Link's. Then she leaned forward and kissed his mouth delicately, stroking his cheek with a soft hand. He responded by caressing her back and shoulders; pressing his lips against hers with equal eagerness.  
Link felt his hand briefly touch Zelda's clothed breast and blushing, he quickly moved it. But using her own hand, Zelda placed it back. It felt so natural...she still clutched him close to her, pressing her lips against his as if her life depended on it.  
  
---------  
  
I'm not sure how long this lasted. But eventually, Link and Zelda managed to notice that the fireworks were over. Everyone was leaving. Trying to get out of the UN was like....well, it was difficult.  
  
"Where are Peach and Nicole?!" Zelda asked worriedly. "I don't see them anywhere!"  
  
"It'd be impossible to in this crowd!" Link said. "We'll have to find them later. C'mon, we've got to get to the station..."  
  
Well it was difficult, but in the end, the two lovers managed to get their way back home successfully and safely. 


	8. In Which The Group Goes To Central Park

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Well, that was something of a hassle," sighed Peach the next morning. "I'm just glad you guys made it home all right."  
  
"It took us a bit, I'll admit it," Zelda yawned. "Gosh, I got to bed so late. Is Nicole still asleep?"  
  
"Yes, and she probably will be until noon," Peach answered, rolling her eyes. "We nearly got separated twice last night in that crowd."  
  
"I'm assuming that you have the day off.?" Zelda asked with another yawn.  
  
"Yeah. But tomorrow I go back to work."  
  
"Joy." Zelda lazily opened the fridge and glanced at what was inside it, then closed it and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Peach."  
  
"Where're you going?"  
  
"Oh, I told Link I'd go with him to Central Park," Zelda answered with a smile. "I'll buy a pretzel or something on the way over. And just so you know, I may not be home for dinner. We might eat somewhere."  
  
"How romantic!" Peach said in a mocking voice, giggling. Zelda laughed and gave her a hug, then began to make her way towards the door. "Wait a minute," Peach said, causing her sister to come to a halt. "I told Nicole I'd take her down to the Stuart Little boating thing today at Central Park around one..."  
  
Zelda shrugged. "Okay. Maybe we'll see you there. I'm sure it'll be okay with Link."  
  
"Well, if it's not, you can just avoid that place."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Zelda laughed. "Bye!"  
  
"Bye."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"OVER THERE!!" Zelda shouted excitedly, causing Link to jump. "Right there, across from the Guggenheim!! A PARKING SPOT!! GO GO GO GO!!!"  
  
"How convenient," Link remarked, pulling into the spot. "And right next to the entrance to Central Park. I don't think I've ever had a better parking place." He jumped out of the car, and Zelda got out too and walked around to his side.  
  
She linked her elbow with his and grasped his hand tightly. As they walked into the park, Link leaned over and kissed Zelda's cheek softly. She laughed and blushed at the same time, then asked, "Is there any particular place in the park you want to go?"  
  
Link shrugged. "I dunno. I think just a walk around the place would be nice."  
  
"Uh. . .my sister said she was bringing my neice here later around the Stuart Little boating place thingy, and. . .uh. . .yeah."  
  
"Well, maybe we'll see them," Link said, grinning. "It's fine with me."  
  
A short time later, the two of them reached the large statue of Alice & co. by the Stuart Little pond. The statue depicted Alice (from Wonderland) staring at the caterpillar, who was seated on top of a large mushroom. On either side of the mushroom stood the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.  
  
"They look just the way they were drawn in the book," Zelda said.  
  
"Never read it," Link said.  
  
"I read it when I was in like third grade or something," Zelda said, taking her place among the small children and sitting on the stone mushroom. "The pictures stood out, because I remember all the characters except Alice had really really REALLY big heads." She laughed, and Link chuckled a bit too.  
  
"Kinda like Yubaba from Spirited Away?" Link asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Zelda answered, hopping off the mushroom. "I actually read that comparison in a magazine somewhere."  
  
"Well, here we are at the Stuart Little boating pond," Link said, putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "But I don't see any sign of your sister or your neice."  
  
"Hm...me neither." Zelda shrugged. "Oh well, I guess they didn't come yet. C'mon, let's walk down that way."  
  
They walked arm-in-arm down a cement path which took a curve by a large, gray building. Zelda wondered what the building was, but didn't question it out loud.  
  
"Nicole tells me all the time that she wants to see that statue of Balto they have here," Zelda said. "She used to be obsessed with the movie, and was shocked when she found out it was based on a true story. I told her the statue in the movie is right here in this city, and she's told me time after time that she wants to see it."  
  
"I saw it going on an overpass once," Link said. "But I can't remember where it was, exactly."  
  
"Well, that's too bad."  
  
About twenty minutes later, Link and Zelda found themselves at one of the exits of the park again.  
  
"That seemed like it went by really fast," Zelda commented.  
  
"Well, time flies by while you're having fun," Link said with a grin, taking a seat on one of the wooden benches.  
  
Zelda sat down next to him with a contented sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he automatically put an arm around her. With a smile, she took Link's hand in her own and squeezed it softly.  
  
"Love you," she whispered softly. Zelda sat up slightly and kissed Link avidly. He began to kiss her back, when he suddenly pulled away.  
  
"Zel, this is no place to be doing. . .this," he said, glancing at an old lady who had been staring at them as if they were huge sinners.  
  
"Then where do you suggest?" she asked, seductively putting her arms around his neck and waiting for a response.  
  
Grinning, Link took Zelda's hand and led her running back to the spot where his car was parked. "C'mon, let's head some place where we can be alone.  
  
As Link opened his car door, Zelda hesitated. She was sure she knew what Link was implying, she just didn't know if it was right or not. Taking a deep breath, she went into the car and hoped she knew what she was doing.  
  
As they came to a stoplight a while later, Link leaned towards Zelda and pointed out her window. "You see that church over there?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Almost no one goes in there anymore. I guess it's 'cause of the bigger churches they have now, but wow. . ." He smiled as the light turned green and he went on again. "That one church has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I've ever seen."  
  
"Do people still go inside?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," Link answered casually. "Sometimes even a priest goes in there to say prayers. I used to go there all the time when I was younger, just to pray for stuff. And you know what's weird is that. . .God would always answer them."  
  
"Really?" Zelda asked. Link nodded. Zelda began to think as they drove on. Think about that church, about where they were going and what they'd be doing, and thinking about where Peach and Nicole were right now.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After about twenty-five minutes of driving, Link pulled into a spot in front of a tall apartment. He and Zelda got out of the car and walked towards it.  
  
Zelda counted the steps as they headed towards the second floor and into room B-14. She shivered slightly as Link unlocked the door and they stepped inside. There was a silence as the two of them stared at each other, not really sure of what to say.  
  
Blinking slowly, Zelda walked towards a shelf with a row of framed pictures on it. "Is this your. . .mother?" she asked softly, staring at a photograph of a young woman in a scarlet red dress.  
  
"Yeah," Link said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That's her."  
  
"You look just like her," Zelda said, smiling.  
  
"A lot of people say that," Link laughed, taking another look at the other pictures. "Let's see. . .that's my Uncle, my Aunts and that's my grandfather."  
  
Zelda's eyes shifted to the last photograph, and she jumped subtely. "W-who's that?" she stammered, pointing to the picture of a red-haired man, whose arms were wrapped tightly around a blonde woman.  
  
"Oh, that's my brother-in-law and my sister," Link answered.  
  
"His. . .his name isn't. . ."  
  
"It's Roy," Link said.  
  
Zelda stared at the picture, hating Link's sister for that one moment. Hating her, and yet feeling guilty for hating her at the same time.  
  
"Um. . .is there a bathroom down the hall? Cause I kinda have to--"  
  
"Oh, yeah, it's that door over there," Link told her, nodding towards a room at his right. She quickly walked in and shut the door.  
  
Link walked quietly towards the photo of his mother, and took it out of the frame. He sighed softly as he traced the ripped edge of the right side. His father should've been on the side, but his body had been torn out completely.  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
Link woke up in his bed as he heard something crash. Loud voices seeped from the downstairs and through the cracks underneath his door. Chills went down Link's spine as he debated whether or not to go and see what was going on. Something bad was going on, and he desperately felt a need to find out what it was.  
  
As quietly as possible, Link crept slowly out of his bed and walked towards the stairway. He decided this was as far as he should go--should he start walking down the wooden steps, his parents would certainly hear him. Then he realized that his parents were the ones shouting. Link could hear their voices quite clearly now:  
  
"Hunter, why are you doing this?!" he heard his mother cry. "Why?!"  
  
"It's not your buisiness if I decided to--to--"  
  
"Just walk away and go?!"  
  
Link jumped as he saw two shadows appear on the wall in front of him. Just to be careful, he crouched back further into the shadows.  
  
"I am sick and tired of this, Lily!" his father shouted, throwing what appeared to be a large suitcase into another room. "If my mother had not been so insistent on controlling every single thing in my life, I would have never in a million YEARS even thought about marrying you! Now that she's good and dead, I have the right to do what I want without having to worry about her coming after me and see that I'm punished for disobeying her!"  
  
"So now you're going to blame this on your mother, you mama's boy!" Lily accused him.  
  
"Shut up and listen to me!" Hunter shouted. Link's eyes widened as he saw the shadow of his father strike the shadow of his mother sharply across the face. Lily let out a short screama and stooped over, trying to stop the pain building in her cheek.  
  
"Hunter, you'll wake the children if you keep on--"  
  
"I don't care about those worthless brats!" Hunter roared. "Let them hear me! They'll never see me again! All they ever were to me were just more mouths to feed! I don't even give a--"  
  
"The children," Lily whispered, slowly removing her hand from her face. "Hunter, tomorrow is Link's ninth birthday and you're just going to-- "  
  
"Here!" Hunter shouted, fumbling for something in his pocket and throwing a pack of cigars at his wife. "Here, tell Link that this is from his father, whom he won't be seeing for a very long time!"  
  
Hunter then turned on his heel, opened the front door, and slammed it shut as loudly as he could. Lily stood there, tears slowly coming down her face. Then, screaming with rage, she threw the pack of cigars into the next room. She then raced up the stairs and turned towards her room.  
  
Link pressed his body against the wall, hoping his mother wouldn't see him. She didn't. Being an eight year old (though going on nine), he did not fully grasp what had just gone on. Slowly, he tiptoed as quietly as he could down the steps until he reached the bottom floor. He walked into the dining room, then stooped down by the wall. There lay his father's pack of cigars.  
  
A few minutes later, he dragged himself back into bed. 'God punish me if I ever do that to anyone,' Link thought to himself.  
  
*PRESENT*  
  
Link hastily put the picture back in its frame and walked over to a small, round table. He opened the drawer, and took out a pack of cigars. An old, dusty, never-been-used cigar pack.  
  
Blowing some hair out of his face, Link muttered, "Thanks a lot dad."  
  
Zelda was also having her fair share of bad memories. Knowing that Link was connected to that. . .that abhorrent man she had once loved! Someone as sweet and kind and trustworthy as Link was somehow incorporated with that monster! It was almost unthinkable!  
  
She stood in front of the mirror, not staring at her reflection, and trying to stop all the memories from approaching her mind. Something tugged at Zelda's concsience, as if wanting her to tell Link that Roy had been seeing her on the side while being married to his sister. But she couldn't do it. She could not bring herself to say it.  
  
Sighing, Zelda leaned over to flush the toilet (which had not been used) and wiped away at her tearing eyes. She put on a smile as she walked out of the bathroom.  
  
Link quickly stuffed the cigars back into the drawer and shut it.  
  
Zelda came up from behind Link and put her arms around his neck. "Love you," she sighed.  
  
"Zel. . ." Link said. She put her hand on his cheek, then leaned forward and kissed him as if her life depended on it. Zelda felt his tongue brush against her lips softly, and she eagerly admitted him to French-kiss her. Both felt their temperatures rising at a terrifying rate, and Zelda's arms reached out to pull Link's jacked off his body.  
  
Suddenly, Link stepped away.  
  
Zelda stood there, dazed, for a moment. Then she said, "Are you okay, honey?"  
  
Shaking his head, Link whispered, "Not really. I just don't really feel that great. It's. . .nothing serious, I just feel a little. . .tired."  
  
"I understand," Zelda said. "Staying up so late last night trying to navigate our way home." She chuckled softly. "I'll just. . .y'know, show myself out--"  
  
"I'm really sorry," Link said softly. "I just don't know how. . .to describe how I'm feeling right now. I wish I could drive you home. . ."  
  
"No, no, it's okay," Zelda said, as Link crashed onto the couch. "I'll just catch a taxi." She bent down and kissed his forehead briefly. "Thanks for a great day."  
  
"No problem," Link mouthed, the words not able to find their way out.  
  
"I'll. . .I guess I'll call you later," Zelda said. "Bye." She saw Link attempting to say good-bye to her, but again no words came out. Feeling a little bad for him, Zelda walked outside the apartment and back onto the street.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mommy, it's not moving."  
  
"You keep crashing it into the wall, honey."  
  
".........."  
  
"Push the stick that way."  
  
"OH!"  
  
Peach and Nicole had finally arrived at the Stuart Little boating pond (missing Link and Zelda completely). Nicole had gotten boat number 14, and was having a little trouble getting it started. That is, until Peach told her which way she should be pushing the control stick.  
  
"Wow, look how fast it's going!" Nicole cried excitedly, making Peach smile helplessly.  
  
"Hey, look out for boat 7," Peach said, watching Nicole swerve her boat out of the way just in time. "That's my girl!" She laughed as her daughter's boat zoomed around the pond, frightening the small fish into their little clusters by the wall. 'I wish that there had been stuff like this when I was a kid,' she thought.  
  
"So, you finally decided to show up," came a voice from behind her.  
  
Peach turned around. "Zel? Hi, where's Link."  
  
Zelda squatted down next to her sister. "We already came by here, and the poor guy wasn't feeling too well."  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
  
"S'okay," Zelda said, shrugging. "So, I just decided to come by here and see if you guys were here."  
  
"Well, we are," Peach remarked, stating the obvious.  
  
"We stopped by Link's apartment," Zelda said. She watched Peach's eyebrows go up slightly. "But we didn't do. . .anything!" she added quickly in a huff.  
  
"WOW, I'M SO GOOD AT THIS!!!" Nicole complimented herself.  
  
Zelda was about to tell Peach about Roy and Link's sister, but changed her mind. She didn't feel like telling her about that just yet. Besides, she didn't want to have another scene in this park full of people.  
  
"Did you guys go over to that Alice statue over there?" Zelda asked, nodding her head towards the right.  
  
"Yep," Peach said, pulling her digital camera out of her purse. "Look, some old guy took this picture for us."  
  
"Oh, that's so cute!" Zelda gushed, holding the camera up to her face and smiling. "It's too bad me and Link didn't have a camera on us."  
  
"Mm-hm. Say, don't you wish that they'd had places like this when we were Nicole's age?" Instead of answering, Zelda asked:  
  
"Say Nicole, can I give that a try?"  
  
"Sure!" Nicole said, handing the control over to her aunt. "It's so much fun!"  
  
Smiling devilishly, Zelda swerved the boat in and out of all the others, causing the water to come up in little splashing waves. "MUA HA HA HAHA!!!"  
  
"Wow, you're not half bad," Peach said, nodding her head.  
  
"This IS fun!!" Zelda shouted, who was possibly having the time of her life. "Give it a shot, Peach!"  
  
"Oh no, I couldn't."  
  
"Aw, c'mon! Don't be such a fraidy cat!"  
  
"Oh, all right."  
  
.............................  
  
And the day ended with Nicole and Zelda laughing hysterically at Peach's terrible boat navigation. 


	9. YO! You did NOT just disrupt my ghetto!

parts of this chapter r kinda random. really random. but w/e. u might still like it. u'll get what i mean later on. i'm just being weird right now.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It had been many weeks since that happy day at Central Park. I guess the way I'm wording this makes it sound as if time now is sad and depressing, but no--everyone's still happy. For the mean time, anyway.  
  
Nicole threw her Sleeping Beauty backpack onto her bed and then raced into her mother's room.  
  
"Hi sweetie," Peach said, who was lying casually on her bed. "How was your day?"  
"Good," answered Nicole. "We got our groups for the project today."  
  
"Really? Who's in your group?"  
  
"John, Paul, George, and. . .uh. . ."  
  
"Ringo?" Peach joked. Nicole gave her mother a blank expression. "Never mind."  
  
"Oh yeah, and Jackie."  
  
"How nice."  
  
"Mom, you remembered that tonight's Back To School Night. . .didn't you?" Nicole asked.  
  
"Oh honey, I'm sorry, I can't go," Peach apologized. "I've got a very important meeting to go to tonight. I don't think I can make it."  
  
"That's okay," Nicole sighed. "I don't even like my teacher that much. I hate her."  
  
Peach's eyebrows went up. "Hate is a pretty strong word."  
  
"But she's so boring!" Nicole exclaimed. "My teacher last year said that learning is supposed to be fun! How on EARTH can it be fun if the person teaching you sounds like a robot, is at least a hundred years old, and then calls you stupid!?"  
  
"Nicole, your teacher did not call you stupid."  
  
"She did! I was there, you weren't!" Nicole sighed loudly with exasperation, and lifted her legs in the air while lying on the bed. "She gets distracted while she teaches us and so she forgets to teach us stuff so the next day when she tests us on the stuff she didn't teach, we don't know whay she's talking about! So then she says 'You know why you don't know what I'm talking about? Because none of you were paying attentiont yesterday when I taught it!' So then she assigns us extra homework to do!!"  
  
"That sounds a little unfair," Peach said.  
  
"It is! That's why I stay up so late every night doing homework! It isn't fair!"  
  
"You're right," Peach decided. "I don't think that a third grader should be working as hard as you are! I wish I could go to Back To School Night so I could have a talk with your teacher, but. . ." She shrugged. "I can't."  
  
The two of them heard the sound of the front door closing, followed by jubilant laughter. Grinning, Nicole climbed off of Peach's bed and bolted out of the room. "Maybe you can't come, but I know someone who could!"  
  
"Hi, Nicole," Zelda said, bending over to hug her neice.  
  
"Hi Aunt Zellie, hi Link!" Nicole said, hugging them both tightly.  
  
"Well, well, well," Zelda laughed. "What's the occasion? You act as if you haven't seen me for years!"  
  
"I'll explain it to you in a minute," Peach said, walking out of her room. "Hi, guys." She turned to her daughter. "Nicole, why don't you go get a start on your home work while I talk with Aunt Zelda and Link?"  
  
"Okay," Nicole agreed, walking back into her bedroom.  
  
"So what's this all about?" Zelda asked, taking a seat.  
  
"It's about Nicole's new teacher," Peach explained. "And tonight is Back To School Night. . ." She plunged into a detailed description of Nicole's new sadistic third-grade teacher.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Okay, the school's just around the corner from here," Zelda said, directing Link to Nicole's school from Eliza's house. "Yeah, there's the parking lot."  
  
A few moments later, Zelda and Link got out of the car, both dressed in what they (and Peach) had decided was their best:  
  
Link wore a large, blue baseball hat backwards on his head. On top of his large Hockey jersey he wore a puffy, black coat. Chains zigzagged in and out of the pockets on his sagging jeans. Link bent down to untie his shoes with hands that bore gloves which were cut off at the knuckles.  
  
Zelda had on black pants with flaires, with straps flying out of the pockets. She also bore black fishnets, with a shirt that read "Pre-School Drop out." Black-and-blue bracelets were on her wrists, and Zelda had also put on red lipstick and black eye shadow. She'd also decided on letting her hair down for the evening.  
  
"Ready?" she asked Link.  
  
"Ready."  
  
Grinning mischievously at each other, the two of them walked into the school and found Nicole's classroom.  
  
"Doing this to a teacher makes me feel like I'm in high school again," Link whispered, grinning as he sat down.  
  
"But remember, this is an elementary school," Zelda joked, taking the seat closest to him. A few moments later, an elderly woman entered the room, wearing a rather ugly purple spotted dress and a cheap fake-looking pearl necklace.  
  
"Dear parents of my third-grade students, it is wonderful to meet you at last," said the old broad. "To your students, I am known as Mrs. DePoint- -" (Zelda and Link hastily turned laughs into coughs)"--but you may all call me Maxine."  
  
She threw an annoyed glance at Zelda, who had just very loudly popped a bubble from her Bazooka Joe gum. Zel rolled her eyes and looked away.  
  
"So before we begin, are there any questions?" Mrs. DePoint asked, speaking to the group of adults as if they were three year olds. Perhaps she wanted to give them the impression that that was the way she treated her students.  
  
"Yeah, I've got a question," said Link, standing up and giving his pants a small, subtle tug.  
  
"May we have the pleasure of hearing your name before your question?" Mrs. DePoint asked with a strained smile, sounding again as if she were talking to a toddler.  
  
"The name's Link Kokiri," he answered, adjusting the long gold necklace that was fastened around his neck.  
  
"And. . .who, may I ask, is your child that is in my class?" the teacher inquired, not recognizing the last name.  
  
"Uh, actually, he don't have a kid in this class," Zelda said, popping her gum. "Y'a see, we're Nicole Toadstool's Aunt and uh. . .Uncle. Her mom couldn't make it tonight."  
  
"I see. . .so what was your question, Mr. Kokiri?"  
  
"My. . .neice has been saying that she's been gettin' a lot of homework from you," Link said, taking a seat slowly. "She's stayed up for hours and hours on end trying to finish it. I say that's too much work for a nine-year old." Link pounded his fist on the desk to emphasize his point. "So what's up with that??"  
  
"Yeah, the same problem's with my Little Jimmy!" said another man, getting to his feet.  
  
"'Little'?" his wife asked, tugging on his jacket to make him sit down again. "Since when do we call him 'Little' Jimmy? Even if he DOES get too much homework for his little head."  
  
"I give them what third graders should be capable of at this stage," Mrs. DePoint growled, walking up to Link and knocking his hat onto the floor. "There are no hats allowed in school."  
  
Gasping, Zelda bent down and picked Link's hat off the ground.  
  
"YO!" said Link, grabbing the hat and putting it back on his head. "You did NOT just disrupt my ghetto!! That ain't cool, man!"  
  
"I am not a man, I am a woman," Mrs. DePoint sniffed in her falsetto voice.  
  
"All I'm sayin' is that it ain't right to give third graders this much work to worry about," Link said. "It just ain't right."  
  
"Yeah," Zelda added. "Lighten up and give 'em a chance!"  
  
"ExCUSE me, but this is--"  
  
"Man, when I was nine years old, we didn't have to do six hours o' crap every night!" Zelda said, turning to the other adults, who were starting to murmur and nod their heads in agreement.  
  
Mrs. DePoint's eyes narrowed. "What did you just say? CRAP?!"  
  
"Yeah, that a problem wit you?" Zelda asked, giving her gum a long stretch. Her neice's teacher glared at her, silently stating that it WAS a problem. "What?? CRAP!! CRAP CRAP CRAP CR--"  
  
"Well when I was nine, such FOUL language was not used in classrooms!" Mr. DePoint sniffed.  
  
"Yeah, how many centuries ago was that?" Link asked. "You want more o' this crap, I got a whole mouthful of them."  
  
"If you say that. . .that WORD one more time, I'll throw you out of here!!" Mrs. DePoint shouted.  
  
"C'mon Link," said Zelda. "We don't need this shi. . .CRAP." She started walking out the door, until Mrs. DePoint stopped her.  
  
Her eyes narrowed again. "You've got a lot of spunk, kid."  
  
"Yeah, well guess what?" Zelda said, leaning closer and speaking in a very soft voice (the other parents tilted towards them slightly to eavesdrop). "It runs in the family." Swiftly, she and Link left the classroom.  
  
As they walked back to the car, the two of them began laughing hysterically.  
  
"I didn't think I'd still enjoy agonizing teachers!" Link chuckled. There was a joyful silence between them, then Link walked over to Zelda, taking off his jacket and hat. He opened the back car door for her, and she quickly stepped in. Link got in after her, then shut the door.  
  
Automatically, Zelda reached up and put her arms around Link. She stared into his soft blue eyes, as if telling him what he was about to receive. Zelda leaned forward and slid her tongue into Link's mouth, her hands moving distractedly into his hair.  
  
He met her with equal ardor, his kisses getting harder and more passionated as he found himself pushing Zelda onto her back until he was lying on top of her. Suddenly Link broke off the kiss as he felt Zelda's hand reach for the side of his pants.  
  
"Wait. . ." he whispered, slowly prying her hand off of his hip. "This isn't. . .it's not. . .we shouldn't do this, Zel." Link slowly opened his eyes and looked down at her. Zelda's blonde hair was somewhat tousled, and her eyes looked up at him with a burning love and slight confusion. He sighed heavily, then said, "I--I really don't believe that we should do this before. . .before. . ."  
  
"I understand," Zelda whispered. "I just. . .got a little excited, I guess."  
  
Link slowly sat up, and Zelda did too. She leaned forward and kissed him gently one last time. "I love you."  
  
"C'mon, I'll take you home."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So, uh. . .how long you been in town, Mr. Kokiri?"  
  
"Oh, I just got here a day or two ago. And please Marth, just call me Hunter."  
  
"Okay. Hunter."  
  
"So how long have you known my son?" Hunter asked, taking another long gulp of his beer.  
  
"Aw, I dunno. We've been around each other a lot. I guess you could say that we're friends, somewhat. If he were to find out you were--oh, bartender? Another beer for my friend here, please--anyway, if Link were to find out you were here, do you think he'd be happy to see you?"  
  
"Why sure," Mr. Kokiri (or Hunter, as I guess I'll refer to him from now on) answered, taking a swig from his sixth glass. "Link always used to look up to me like a. . .well, I was his father."  
  
"Do you think he'd like to be informed?"  
  
Hunter hiccuped, then said, "I would think so."  
  
Grinning, Marth said, "I'll be right back."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sighing and rubbing his forehead, Link stepped into his apartment. Lazily, he threw his jacket onto the couch and then noticed that he had a phone message. Link reached over and pressed a button, and waited to hear the message.  
  
"Uh. . .hey, Link, this is Marth Lowell. . .your dad's in town. He want to see you."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rasheid: You did NOT just disrupt my gangstuh!!  
  
Amanda: Or ghetto.  
  
Me: Please review!!!!!!!! 


	10. A Reunion

well, heres some more o' this story. joy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Link played the message again. Twice. Then he realized that there was more to it: "He's down here at Johnny Friendly's bar, so y'know. . .oh, and by the way, it's. . .nine seventeen and forty-three seconds right now."  
  
And that was it. Link sat on the couch, stunned, trying to fathom what Marth had just said. His father, his old hero, was here in town. . .and he wanted to see him. Sighing, Link got up and picked up his jacket.  
  
On his way out the door, he passed the desk with the cigars in them. He stared at it sadly, then looked away and walked out of the room.  
  
In the rain, Link navigated his way back downtown. He'd been past Johnny Friendly's bar only once or twice before, but he was pretty sure he knew where he was going. Link jumped as the car behind him honked--the light he'd been waiting at had turned green and he hadn't noticed. One might say he was somewhat distracted.  
  
'Just down this block,' he thought to himself, turning a long corner.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey, how'd it go?" Peach asked, as Zelda came in through the front door.  
  
"It was hilarious!" Zelda laughed, taking her coat off and throwing it onto the couch nearby. "We gave that teacher the worst time she's ever had, I'm sure."  
  
"So what'd you do?"  
  
"Oh, y'know. . .Link asked her why she assigned so much homework to third graders, and she kinda sniffed and said that they should be able to deal with that kind of stuff by now. So then we started using 'foul language'--we said 'crap'--and she literally kicked us out of the classroom."  
  
"That's a crack up!" Peach giggled.  
  
"Where's Nicole?" Zelda inquired.  
  
"She's fast asleep, the poor dear," Peach answered. "She told me she's got a really big test tomorrow and she wants to make sure she's well rested. But maybe what you guys said to her teacher will make her think twice about giving it!"  
  
The two sisters laughed, until Peach spoke again. "Since you. . .left. . .early, I wouldn't really have expected to get here before you-- Nicole said she'd been here alone for about fifteen minutes."  
  
"We got stuck in really bad traffic," Zelda explained. "Y'know, what with the rain and all." She clicked her tongue ruefully as Peach stood up and went over to the refrigerator. "It's really bad, actually. Two underage teens got drunk and were speeding down the highway at an incredible rate, like they were racing each other." She sighed. "The things alcohol can do to a person. . ."  
  
"In that case, I suppose you won't want a beer," Peach said, taking one out for herself.  
  
"No thank you," Zelda answered.  
  
"Cigarette?"  
  
"Nope, I've quit."  
  
Peach nearly dropped her beer can in shock. "You QUIT? Since when have you stopped smoking?!"  
  
Zelda shrugged, a little surprised by her sister's response. "I dunno. Link stopped, and so I asked him why, and he just kinda said he'd been trying to stop for a while and his cousin finally died from second hand smoke and that was sorta the last straw, if you know what I mean." She said this all very quickly, and then took a deep breath. "So I've decided it's not the best thing for me."  
  
"I see," Peach said softly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Have another drink, Hunter," said Marth.  
  
"No, s'okay," Hunter said, hiccuping. "I--hic--think that nine glasses is enough."  
  
"May as well make it a nice, round number," Marth said. "Besides, it'll help you feel better. I swear."  
  
"Hic--really?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Well, in that case. . .okay." Hunter accepted the glass and drank it down rather quickly. Marth stared at him as he swiftly lowered the empty glass, nearly breaking it. "Marth, do you think he'll be here soon?"  
  
"It's hard to say," Marth answered, picking at some dirt underneath his fingernails. "It all depends on when he gets home."  
  
At that moment, the door to the bar opened. Link looked around slowly, then saw Marth grinning and motioning for him to walk over. Shakily, he did so.  
  
"Who you waving to?" Hunter asked, whose back was to the door.  
  
"Just the man we've been waiting for," Marth said with a grin, as Link took a seat beside him. His eyes never left his father.  
  
Hunter's face was shrunken, his hair mostly grey with dots of brown here and there. His eyes were just as blue as Link's, and his hands were gnarly with age. It looked as though his nose had been broken, and a scar was visible beside his left eyebrow.  
  
Link stared at his father with hate.  
  
"'Lo," Hunter said wearily with a drunken smile. "How you been, Link?"  
  
Link continued to stare, then stood up and took his father's eleventh glass off the table and threw it at the wall. "Is that all you can say?!" Link demanded. "How have I BEEN?! AFTER YOU JUST ONE DAY DECIDE TO PACK UP AND LEAVE US ALL, YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO COME BACK NOW AND ASK ME HOW I'VE BEEN, LIKE YOU'VE ONLY BEEN GONE ON SOME TEMPORARY BUISINESS TRIP OR SOMETHING?!"  
  
"Link, Link, please--hic--calm down!" Hunter said, his wry smile beginning to fade as he waggled his finger at Link.  
  
"You're drunk!" Link shouted.  
  
"No I ain't."  
  
"I can smell it on you!"  
  
"Well, you know me, Link," Hunter said. "Beer don't have any affect on me, no matter how much you give me." He laughed. "I remember one time when your mother was tryin' to get me into bed with her after an argument, but I refused. She gave me nine glasses of beer to try and get me to, but I STILL wouldn't do it!" Hunter laughed again, slapping the table with his hand. "Oh, your poor mother was such b--"  
  
"SHUT UP, and listen to what I have to say!" Link said. "Right before my ninth birthday, you decide to just pack up and leave us! Abandon us! Leave us with no income! And not only that, but you abuse your wife before you go, and you probably did lots of times!"  
  
"How did--"  
  
Tears of anger and pain streamed down Link's face as he recalled memories and several bar residents exited the building. "And when your son John dies in a car accident when he was only eight years old, do you even CARE?! YOU SEND US TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY, HOPING THAT'LL MAKE UP FOR YOUR ABSENCE FROM HIS FUNERUAL!!"  
  
"Just let me ex--"  
  
"HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" Link shouted, his voice echoing off the walls of the practically empty bar. In a fit of rage, he picked up his chair and threw it against the wall. "I hate you!"  
  
"Now, now, Link," said Marth, standing up. "You should give your father a chance to explain himself." He gave Hunter a supportive pat on the back. Then Marth glanced up at Johnny Friendly, pretty much the only person left.  
  
Johnny walked over to them and said, "If you're going to have another father-to-son argument, I'd ask that you take it outside! You're drivin' away all my costumers!"  
  
"Sorry," Link apologized. "I just got a little. . ."  
  
"C'mon," said Hunter, putting an arm around Link's shoulders. He seemed a little hurt when Link shrugged him off. "Let's go for a drive, okay? Maybe we can sort this all out, you think?"  
  
Staring at his father, Link slowly sighed. "All right. Let's go."  
  
Marth grinned as he watched Hunter and Link walk out the door.  
  
"So where exactly do you plan on going?" Link asked, as they got into his car.  
  
"Let me drive," Hunter said, pulling Link out of the driver's seat.  
  
"All right, so where do you plan on going?" Link repeated, getting into the passenger's seat.  
  
"Oh, we'll--hic--see," Hunter answered.  
  
"Are you sure you should be driving?" Link asked warily, as they began.  
  
"S--hic--sure," Hunter responded. "Don't be such a ninny, Link. A son of mine would never worry about such a stupid thing."  
  
After a long silence, Link pulled a scented ornament out of the glove compartment and attatched it to the rear view mirror.  
  
"What's that for?" Hunter asked, as the car began smelling like strawberry.  
  
"You're making my car smell like gin."  
  
"It's beer I've been drinking. And besides--hic--who cares what your car smells like, Link?"  
  
"I just don't want my girlfriend to think I've been drinking, okay?"  
  
"Ah, so you've got a girl now, have you?" Laughing Hunter nodded and hiccuped. "I suppose I was gettin' girls at your age, too. Pretty hard rain, isn't it?" He laughed again, shaking the car slightly. He turned to face Link. "I remember when--"  
  
"Dad, watch it!" Link shouted, as the loud sound of a truck horn blaring at them filled his ears. He leaned over to yank the steering wheel aside, but he was too late. The truck smashed head-on into the small buick, causing both cars to skid on the wet pavement until the truck managed to come to a stop.  
  
Shaking violently, the truck driver jumped out of his vehicle and ran towards the car he'd hit, which had been flipped onto its side.  
  
"God have mercy on me!" he whispered loudly as the sound of sirens came whistling towards him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Gosh, it's freezing," Zelda said, shivering. "We normally have much warmer weather in late September!"  
  
"I wonder how cold it is," Peach thought aloud.  
  
Zelda glanced at the clock. "It's 9:58 now. Turn on the radio."  
  
Peach walked over to the radio on the table and turned it on. She switched stations a bit until she found the right one.  
  
"And now it's time for traffic accidents and weather together," announced the news reporter (as a high-hat cymbal played in the background). "A report just in warns drivers to elude the Tappan Zee bridge as easily as they can. . .we've just had an accident down there that could be lethal, involving a produce truck and a totaled buick. . ."  
  
"That's awful," sighed Peach.  
  
"Officers say that the truck driver, Bill Cliggot, had crashed into the car of a Mr. Hunter Kokiri. . .the drunken driver, who is believed to be dead, was riding with his son, Link. Though alive, Link has been rushed immediatley to the nearest hos--"  
  
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Zelda shouted, grabbing her jacket and running outside the door.  
  
Peach automatically turned off the radio as she heard the front door slam. She hoped Zelda would be all right out there--at the speed she knew Zelda would be going, she hoped that her sister wouldn't be too rash.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Dun dun DUNNNNN!!! next chap up soon!! plz review! 


	11. Faith

okey-dokey, here is some more of this traumatic story......i sound so dumb.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Visiting hours will be over quite shortly," said the man behind the desk at the hospital. "But. . .seeing as how the. . .under the circumstances, we've decided to allow you a little extra time. Just remember: the best thing for him now is rest."  
  
"Thank you so much," Zelda whispered.  
  
The man sighed, and pointed down the hall with his pen. "Room B204."  
  
Zelda bumped into a doctor coming out of Link's room as she was attempting to make her way in. "Sorry," she said.  
  
Staring at her, the doctor finally asked, "You wouldn't happen to be Zelda, would you?"  
  
"Yes, I am," Zelda answered, a little confused. "How did. . .you. . ."  
  
"Link's been asking for you ever since he got here," the doctor responded. "He keeps on falling in and out of sleep, so I'm not sure exactly how he'll be for the ten minutes we can give you. . ."  
  
"Thank you, doctor," Zelda whispered, entering the room.  
  
A small gasp of pain and horror escaped Zelda's lips as she saw Link lying in a pearl-white bed. She could only see Link from his chest and up, and most of it was bandaged heavily. His eyes were closed, his head turned slightly to the left.  
  
Zelda picked up a chair and put it next to the side of the bed. Crying softly, she reached out a hand and took Link's gently. Briefly, she brought it to her lips and squeezed it gently. "I love you," she said in a whisper.  
  
"Love you," she heard, feeling Link squeeze her hand back.  
  
"Link, you're awake!" she said, starting to cry a little louder. "What in heaven's name happened to you?! How did you get in that car accident?!"  
  
"My dad asked to drive," Link said in a hoarse voice. "I shouldn't have let him. . . he was drunk. . ."  
  
"That's what they said on the radio," Zelda sniffed.  
  
"I was wondering how you found out," Link said. Using all the strength he had left, he brought Zelda's hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. "I'm sorry that this had to happen." He coughed.  
  
"Don't talk if it hurts," Zelda said soothingly, putting her other hand over his lips. "I know this has been a horrid night for you. . .just thank God you aren't dead." She took in a sharp breath, remembering what the radio had said about Link's father, but he didn't seem to really react in a certain way.  
  
"Thank God," she heard him whisper.  
  
"You're crying," Zelda whispered, still weeping a bit herself. She leaned over and wiped the tears off his face, along with some loose strands of hair. Zelda lowered her lips to his cheeks stained with tears, eventually moving on to Link's own mouth. He reached up on arm to stroke her neck, then brought it down as he broke off the kiss.  
  
"I should've told you this before," he said, still speaking in a hoarse voice. "But the doctors are afraid there's something wrong with my lungs, or something like that. I heard them say that there's only a fifty percent chance of my making it through this."  
  
The news struck Zelda like lightning. The idea that Link might die was just unthinkable. It took a moment for this to register in her mind. "I won't let anything happen to you," she whispered. "Not as long as I'm still here. . .nothing will happen. I won't let it."  
  
"'Scuse me miss, your time's up," said the doctor, opening the door a crack.  
  
"I love you," Zelda said, standing up as Link fell asleep again. She hastened out of the room and towards the elevator. She had to escape this mad place that reeked of death and dying, of people weeping over lost souls.  
  
Zelda made it to the ground floor, and ran out of the hospital. She raced right past her car, and just kept on running, as if that was what kept her alive.  
  
'Fifty percent,' she thought. 'That's still half a chance, isn't it? Nothing will happen to Link, nothing can. . .half a chance!'  
  
Suddenly, she came to a halt. Screaming in rage, she picked up an empty soda can and threw it as hard as she could towards a stoplight.  
  
'Why did this have to happen to us?' Zelda thought desperately. 'This is always what you expect to happen to someone else!' Then a bitter voice inside her said, 'But to someone else, you ARE someone else.'  
  
She turned sharply to her right, looking for some place of comfort, of consolation. Then it hit her: she was standing right outside of that church Link had showed her before. That small hole in the wall, with the stained glass windows.  
  
Zelda looked around her. Because of the rain, not very many people were walking around in the streets. Hesitantly, she walked towards the church. The steps leading up to the doors seemed long and steep, but she made it in time. Not really sure of where her feet were leading her, Zelda saw herself opening the door and stepping inside.  
  
The shadow of a man approached her from the darkness of another room. They stared at each other for a long time. This man was wearing a turned- around collar, and a long overcoat. He must be a priest.  
  
The priest stared at Zelda. Dripping from head to toe, he noticed the girl's black pants with straps, her leather jacket, and the eye makeup that was slightly smudged. She was glad that her "Pre-School drop-out" shirt was covered by her jacket.  
  
"May I help you?" he finally asked.  
  
Zelda wasn't exactly sure how to answer. "I just. . .I wanted to come in here to pray. . .a friend of mine told me this was a good place."  
  
"I was just leaving," the priest said, giving Zelda a last judging look. "Anyone is welcome in the house of God, child. I hope he answers your prayers."  
  
"Thank you," she said in and inaudible whisper as the priest walked past her. She heard the door slam loudly behind her.  
  
Gulping, Zelda walked towards the chapel. Rows and rows of long, benches filled the gigantic room, all of them covered in layers of dust. Hundreds of small candles lit the pulpit, adding an eerie sort of glow to the room. But it was a comforting glow.  
  
And there was that stained glass Link had talked to her about. All the colors made up beautiful images on the windows, describing Bible stories: there was Christ in the center, dressed in a white robe; Mary held a baby Jesus in her arms on one side, and there also stood several other artworks--too many to describe.  
  
Zelda's feet lead her to the very front of the room, directly in front of the pulpit. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees, clasping her hands together and bowing her head. Her eyes shut automatically, tears getting squeezed out of them.  
  
"Please, God," she whispered softly. She sighed. "I know that I've done a lot of. . . a lot of bad things in my life. And I regret them all, Father, I repent. I n-now realize the error o-of my ways, and I want to better my life.  
  
My Father, as you know, Link i-is in a. . ." Zelda gulped and her voice cracked slightly. "A c-critical condition, a-and he might be in danger of death." She heard her voice rising in desperation. "I know and understand what I've done wrong in my life, b-but if you take away Link, you'll be taking away the only good soul I've ever met in my life. He's the one w-who's made me who I am today! Without Link, I wouldn't have ever realized w-what I've done wrong, he's the one who taught me what was right!" She couldn't seem to say this enough. "H-he's the only one who's ever b-bothered to teach me h-how to do as you say!  
  
Please, my Savior, my God, spare his life. I ask you in faith and in prayer that he may be restored t-to me a-and the rest of the world." Zelda's eyes opened as she stared back at the painting of Christ. She could see the clouds parting in the sky outside of the monumental windows, and the light of a full moon shone brightly through it.  
  
Wiping away at her eyes as she slowly got to her feet, Zelda looked up. The colored glass had shone onto the chapel's floor, filling the room with a highlighted sort of glow. Making her way towards the door, Zelda was filled with a feeling that her prayers had been answered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
weeeeeeeeeeeeell? plz review! 


	12. The Last Chapter

my friends, this is the final chapter o' this story. just wanted to let you know. read on!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Trying to get to sleep that night was near to impossible. Zelda tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. But each time she closed her eyes, she could see Link dying. . .she could see him getting crushed in a car accident, or being found dead at the hospital, and a number of other horrific things.  
  
Half of her strongly believed that no matter what, God would see to it that justice was done. That Link would be revived, and he would no longer be in pain of any kind. That was she wanted to believe, what she HAD to believe.  
  
But what people never want to even consider is always what haunts them most. Zelda had to admit to herself that it was highly possible that Link could die. For all she knew, he could be dead now. She began to imagine what life would be like without him. What a stupid thing to think about: a life without Link was. . .it just wasn't a life at all!  
  
Zelda decided that the first thing she'd do in the morning would be to call the hospital. She had to tell them to call her as soon as they found out something. Anything.  
  
Now Zelda's challenge was to find a comfortable, dry spot on her bed. She had been crying and moving around so much, her sheets and pillowcases were soaked. Zelda changed a loud sob into a sigh.  
  
She hated being alone in the darkness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The phone rang early in the morning four days later. Zelda literally jumped out of bed and raced to answer it (not only was she anxious for the call, but she didn't want it waking any one else in the house).  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Zelda Harkinian?"  
  
"Yes. . ."  
  
"Yeah, this is city hospital," said the voice on the other end. "You asked us to call about Link as soon as we could, and we. . .we've got some good news, I believe. Our doctors stayed up later and longer than usual doing all that they could. Through their combined skills and knowledge, Link managed to pull through."  
  
The doctor heard choking noises on the other end of the phone. Zelda was trying to speak, but she couldn't get any words out. Grinning to himself, the doctor continued what he was saying:  
  
"Most of his abdomen is bandaged, because that's where most of the damage is. Also, we've put him on crutches because his right leg got broken. We're sending him down to his apartment later this afternoon. . .will you be home?"  
  
Zelda nodded, forgetting that the doctor couldn't see her. "Y-yes," she finally managed to stutter.  
  
"Good. Just be careful around him; don't let him do anything too active. . .though I'm sure he won't be too anxious to try anything rash any time soon." The doctor laughed. "Have a good day, Ms. Harkinian. Good-bye." After a rather long pause, the doctor chuckled and dropped the phone back on its cradle.  
  
It was a few minutes until Zelda slowly lowered her arm and hung up. She wasn't really aware of it, but tears were sliding down her face. After four long, agonizing, heartbreaking days, she finally knew that Link was safe. He was coming home today.  
  
"Thank you, God."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The phone rang again later that afternoon. Peach picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Peach. It's Link."  
  
"Link! Oh, thank heavens you're all--when did you get home?"  
  
"About an hour a. . .well, it was actually more like an hour and a half ago. I kinda dozed off once I got here, I was so tired. You have no idea what trying to fall asleep in a hospital is like."  
  
Peach coiled the phone cord around her finger. "Zelda's been having so much trouble getting to sleep, too, the poor darling. She's been so worried about you over the past few days, you have no idea." She laughed. "When she got the phone call this morning from the hospital, she kind of zoned out--that's what she told me. The next thing I know, I'm waking up to the sound of her screaming."  
  
"Wow," Link said dully. "Uh. . .speaking of Zelda, is she there?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on a sec." Peach put her hand over the reciever. "Zeeeeeelda!!! Some one's on the phone and wants to talk to you!!!"  
  
Zelda ran into her room and picked up the phone in a heartbeat. "Link??"  
  
"Uh, no. . .this is Bob, the plumber. . ."  
  
"............."  
  
"Oh, I'm just kiddin' you, Zel."  
  
Sighing, Zelda lay down on her bed. "It's so wonderful to hear your voice again," she whispered. "Being without it these past four days have been like a living hell." She paused. "Link, can I....can I come down there and see you?"  
  
"Nothing would please me more."  
  
Zelda laughed and sat up. "I'll be down there before you can say supercalifragalisticexpialidocious backwards ten times fast!! Bye!" She hung the phone and flew out the front door.  
  
"Interesting," Link said to himself, hanging up the phone.  
  
Roughly ten minutes later, Link heard the sound of a buzzer. "Come on in, Zel," he laughed.  
  
"Uh. . .this is Marge, the interior designer. . ."  
  
"Ha ha, very funny, Zelda."  
  
Link saw his door creak open, and his face fell. "I'm serious. I'm Marge. You called for the interior designing, didn't you?"  
  
"Um, no," Link said as politely as he could.  
  
Marge glanced at the room number, then laughed. "No wonder! This is the wrong room! Ha ha, I feel stupid. . .sorry to bother you, sir."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Zelda approached Link's room as Marge was exiting it. The two basically ignored each other as they went in their seperate directions. Shutting the door carelessly behind her, Zelda glided across the room to the couch where Link was lying.  
  
"Link!" she breathed, bending down to kiss him.  
  
"Wait, wait!" he said, stopping her. "Bandaged chest and broken leg, remember?"  
  
"Oh yes," Zelda muttered. She sat down on the couch. "Here, put your legs up on mine."  
  
"What?" Link chuckled.  
  
"C'mon, just do it. Up on my lap."  
  
"Whatever." Link lifted up his legs and Zelda quickly slid underneath them. "Well, this is a different setting," he remarked.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zelda asked, putting an arm around his shoulders and massaging his neck distractedly.  
  
"Well, this is quintissentially incorrect," Link answered. "Normally it's you who should be resting on top of me, and me who's cradling you in my arms."  
  
"I'm sure Vincent Minelli would be very disappointed in us," Zelda laughed. Gently, she placed her hand on Link's cheek, then kissed him ardently. Now she knew that she had taken Link's love and his kisses all for granted. Zelda knew that there was no way she could've ever lived without them.  
  
"You know that little church you showed me a while ago?" Zelda asked, moving her lips down his neck.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I went there right after I saw you in the hospital," Zelda continued. She couldn't keep her hands off him. It was almost as if she couldn't believe he was really there. But he was. "I knew I had to pray in there, just like you said you had." Zelda paused, then slowly sat up, looking down at Link. "I've. . .never been much of religious person, but I just had this feeling inside telling me that a prayer would work."  
  
"Well, I'm glad it did," Link said, once again stating the obvious. He let out a slow sigh, then gradually came to a sitting position. "Look Zel, there's something we need to. . . talk about."  
  
"What is it?" Zelda inquired, cocking her head to one side.  
  
"I'm really not in the right position to ask you this," Link said, half of him sitting on the couch and the other leaning towards the floor.  
  
Zelda felt her heart skip a beat. If he needed to be in the right position to ask a question, there was only one thing in the world she knew he could be asking her.  
  
"Zel, I love you," Link said in a whisper. "A lot. Peach told me the. . .problems you were having while I was in the hospital. And I know that if anything like that ever happened to you, or if I--if I lost you, I just don't know what I would do."  
  
"Link, what're you trying to say?" Zelda said so softly, Link had to strain his ears to hear it.  
  
"I want to know if. . .you'll. . ." Oh, why was this so hard to ask? "....marry me." In one cobra-slick move, he reached into his coat pocket and whisked out a lovely blue diamond ring.  
  
You know that feeling you get right after something really. . .like, really unexpected happens right in front of you? Like say you accidentally drop your mother's favorite porcelain bowl and then there's just this silence? A silence so loud it barely lets you comprehend what happened.  
  
Zelda had been expecting this, and was unbelievably thrilled about it, but there was just this silence as she tried to tell her mind and her body what she'd just been asked.  
  
Link's breathing got slightly louder. His eyes never left Zelda's as that small, nagging voice in his head started telling him she might decline. He didn't know what he'd do if she said no. His hand started shaking.  
  
Zelda took his arm and heaved him back onto the couch. Then she leaned forward and kissed him again. She drew back, then whispered, "Yes. I will."  
  
Sighing with relief, Link took the ring out of the box and and slid it onto her finger.  
  
"It's gorgeous, Link," Zelda laughed. "Oh, you didn't think I'd say no, did you?"  
  
"Well, not really," he answered. "But I did get a little nervous for a minute."  
  
"I'm sorry," Zelda said. "I kind of knew I'd end up saying yes, but I just had to think about Nicole and about Peach and everyone, you know?"  
  
"I understand what you mean," Link said. "Marrige is kind of a big step."  
  
"I know," Zelda said, grinning. "But we're ready for it. I can tell."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
So what happened after that? I guess, as Louis Sachar says, you'll just have to fill in the rest of the holes yourself.  
  
THE END (or is it the beginning? hmmmmm.....)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N:  
  
evil ending, huh? i just like to let the reader. . .imagine. . .whats going to happen next and all that, y'know?  
  
i normally write an epilogue, but i dont really feel like it. sorry. and may i also take this time to say that i am not writing a sequel, either. i've got way too many ideas and stories to keep up with as it is. so go read them!! HEE HEE!!!  
  
while i was writing that proposing part, i remembered that really funny part from charlie's angels full throttle:  
  
Natalie: Dylan! Dylan, guess what?? We're getting--we're getting--oh!!!  
  
Dylan: *dreading she will say shes getting married* What? You're getting what???  
  
Natalie: We're getting a PUPPY!!  
  
Dylan: ....OH! That's just great!!  
  
lol. kinda random and dumb of me to stick that on here but w/e.  
  
Zelda: This author is such an idiot.  
  
Sawyerzelda: I wouldn't say that.  
  
Nicole: Duh.  
  
Link: Shut up.  
  
Sawyerzelda: Fine. plz review, my readers! and also plz try not to flame....i'm very sensitive about that kind of stuff. :*( 


End file.
